MARATHON, Fla. — Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Marathon man on Thursday after accusing him of using an umbrella as a weapon during a dispute that began in a Home Depot parking lot and ended inside the store.

Ramon Rodriguez, 66, is accused of choking a 54-year-old man with the umbrella at the home improvement chain’s store at 4555 Overseas Highway.

According to a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, the victim told deputies that Rodriguez nearly hit him with his truck as he exited the store just before 8:15 a.m., leading to a verbal dispute.

The report states that the victim told deputies that he had pushed a shopping cart into Rodriguez’s truck. Investigators said the confrontation continued inside the store, between the self-checkout stations.

Deputies said Rodriguez grabbed an umbrella upon entering the store and used it to perform a “rear-naked choke,” a Brazilian jiu-jitsu move, on the victim, which “prevent(ed) him from breathing temporarily.”

“Home Depot staff intervened and separated both parties,” MCSO Deputy James Metzger wrote. “Ramon then left the store and returned to his construction site.”

Deputies said Rodriguez later spoke to them over the phone and returned to Home Depot, where he was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

As of Friday afternoon, Rodriguez remained at MCSO’s Key West jail facility with no listed bond.

Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.