Paving Turf Wars Heat Up In Georgia When Family Members Of One Company Allegedly Attack Another With Bats
The paving turf wars in Georgia heated up days before Christmas as family members of a paving company allegedly confronted employees of a rival company with bats, sticks, and other weapons, including a gun.
Six members of the Buckland family, which owns several paving companies across the state, were arrested and have been accused by police from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office of assaulting employees of a rival company.
Members of a paving family were arrested for an alleged attack on a rival company's employees. (Image Credit: Getty)
The alleged brawl, according to 13 WMAZ, went down around 1p.m. on Dec. 19. EH Paving was paving a man's driveway near a house owned by a member of the Buckland family. This was allegedly seen as disrespectful.
The property owner said he saw three trucks pull up, stop in the roadway, and start arguing with the employees working on his driveway. He then said six members of the Buckland paving family got out of the vehicles and approached the EH Paving employees with weapons.
The employees were stuck. They tried, according to the property owner, but couldn’t escape. Monroe County sheriff Brad Freeman described it as, "Like something out of the Sopranos TV series."
From there it was on. Bats were used, a man ended up in the hospital, and at least two guns were reported to have been pulled.
According to the owner of EH Paving, one of his sons was hit in the head with a bat by 50-year-old Willy Buckland Sr. He also claimed that Willy Buckland Jr., 22, and James Small, 21 - the son-in-law of Buckland Sr. - attacked his other son.
Paving wars in Georgia led to the arrest of six members of the Buckland paving family
He added that his nephew was attacked by 28-year-old Luke Buckland. The report stated that many of the EH Paving employees had knots and bruises and that one of them was taken to the hospital after feeling lightheaded and throwing up.
This allegedly wasn’t at all a friendly holiday exchange. Monroe County sheriff Brad Freeman added to his Sopranos claim, "These are adult men too. Adult men with pretty good reputations."
The owner of the rival paving company said this isn't the first time the Buckland family has shown up on one of their job sites and started fights.
The six members of the Buckland family were charged with criminal trespass and some were also charged with simple battery or aggravated assault.
Mark Buckland Sr., 77, was charged with pointing a pistol at another and tampering with evidence. He allegedly pulled out a "cowboy-style pistol" during the altercation.
His son, 58-year-old Mark Buckland Jr., was also charged with inciting a riot.
The report also says that a man from EH Paving pointed his gun at the woods and fired a shot to scare off the Buckland family.
All in all, an alleged wild scene within a week of Christmas. There is an argument to be made that, while unconventional, these two paving companies really want your business.