Thursday, January 29, 2026
Crime

Details emerge from Merritt Island disturbance caught on Ring camera that lead to arrest

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By Robert Burns
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MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. — New details have emerged in the Merritt Island incident we previously reported after publishing Ring camera footage of a man causing a disturbance in a neighborhood. According to Brevard County Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavits, the suspect was taken into custody after deputies say he entered an occupied residence, damaged property valued at more than $1,000, armed himself with multiple weapons, and later fought with a deputy during the arrest.

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The defendant is identified in the affidavits as Charles Reed Knight III, 54. Deputies responded to a call for service on Jan. 28 at a home on Hillview Circle in Merritt Island after multiple callers reported a male subject knocking on doors, asking to be let inside homes, damaging security cameras, striking garbage cans, and tearing up yards, the documents state.

In a sworn statement, the resident who called 911, identified as Laura Boles, told deputies the suspect entered an enclosed and attached front area of her home and began “picking up, depriving and breaking” multiple decorations, according to the affidavit. Deputies say Knight then armed himself with a metal pitchfork and used it to damage a home surveillance system in the yard area. After the wooden handle broke, investigators allege he armed himself again, this time with a small axe, and continued the destruction.

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During the disturbance, a roommate was awakened and went outside to confront the suspect. Deputies say the roommate, identified as Loc Vo, told investigators that the suspect aggressively charged him and struck him with a closed fist. The affidavit also states the suspect chased the roommate as he attempted to flee down the street.

Deputies say a scuffle occurred during the response and the suspect was ultimately tased and handcuffed. In a separate affidavit, the arresting deputy wrote that when he attempted to detain Knight, Knight threw punches and then continued resisting after a Taser was deployed, requiring deputies to force him into handcuffs.

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Knight is also tied to the Space Coast firearms industry. According to reports from others, he serves as the management role for Knight’s Armament Company, a Titusville-based firearms manufacturer. Public patent records also list “Charles Reed Knight, III” as an inventor on a Knight’s Armament Company assigned design patent for a firearm grip, U.S. Design Patent D761,928. Investigators have not alleged any connection between the incident and the company’s operations, but the arrest has raised concerns among some residents about judgment and conduct for someone in a leadership role within an industry centered on weapons manufacturing, where safety, professionalism, and public trust are critical.

Knight was booked into the Brevard County Jail on multiple charges listed in the affidavits, including armed burglary of a structure, criminal mischief over $1,000, simple battery, trespass of an occupied structure, and additional charges related to the confrontation with law enforcement. The affidavits also note that a detailed case report was expected to follow.

Editor’s note: Our earlier story included the neighborhood Ring camera video.

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