Man suspected of threatening pickelballers with machete

A man has been arrested after authorities said he chased a group of pickleball players off a Naples court.

“I don’t know. It just seemed like he snapped,” said William Nehrkorn, father of one of the pickleball players.

Pelican Marsh maintenance worker, Joseph DeValle, is accused of running toward Nehrkorn’s son and friends, not with a paddle but a machete.

According to the arrest report, the 53-year-old told the group that the courts were closing, but as they started to leave, the men heard screaming and saw DeValle racing toward them.

“Then all of a sudden, I heard the squealing of tires, and the person who tried to kill them with the machete came roaring into the parking lot,” said Nehrkorn.

Nehrkron goes on to describe how the situation made him feel.

“He jumps out of his truck, and that was just so scary because I don’t know what he would’ve had in his pocket. I was looking to see if he had anything in his hand to cause us harm with,” said Nehrkorn. ” And then he came right over to my son and threatened him, so I had to get in between.”

When the Collier County Sheriff’s Office got to the scene, they detained DeValle and said he smelled of alcohol.

DeValle was arrested and faced three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.