'Like Something Out of the Sopranos': Two Paving Companies Allegedly Brawl at Job Site, Resulting in Multiple Arrests
When family members of one Georgia paving company empire saw a rival family-owned company doing business on their turf, things reportedly got ugly.
The New York Post summed up the incident this way: “The Buckland boys thought EH Paving was being ‘disrespectful’ by working so close to one of the Bucklands’ houses — and they let them know in a way that would make Paulie Walnuts proud.”
In the more prosaic terms of a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, on Dec. 19, EH Paving was working on the job of paving a driveway in Bolingbroke, Georgia, when at about 1 p.m. three trucks pulled up at the job site, according to WMAZ-TV.
The property owner told deputies six members of the Buckland family brought bats, sticks, and other weapons to the conversation. The Bucklands own a number of paving companies in the area.
Monroe County Sheriff Brad Freeman summed up the fracas by saying it was “like something out of the Sopranos TV series.”
Georgia paving company allegedly attacks rivals with baseball bats, draws gun on workers over turf dispute: ‘Something out of the Sopranos’ https://t.co/2UjSGyC5Uc pic.twitter.com/fr9uFqjEL4
— New York Post (@nypost) December 30, 2024
One individual on the receiving end of the visit told police that “the main reason for the fight today was due to the paving so close to Michael Buckland’s house and the Buckland’s found it ‘disrespectful’ that they got the job,” the report said, according to People.
Monroe County Sheriff Public Information Officer Anna Greene Watkins said, “Things like this usually do not happen here in Monroe County.”
Eddie Harrison, who owns EH Paving, said “he was scared Mark Sr was going to shoot him due to Mark Sr pulling a long ‘cowboy style pistol’ out and pointing it in his face,” the police report said.
“Harrison stated Willy Buckland Sr hit his son in the head with a bat,” the report said.
“Harrison also stated Willy Jr. and [James Small] jumped on his other son Eddie Harrison Jr. and struck him multiple times with fists and a bat. Harrison stated Luke Buckland struck his nephew Eddie Jack Harrison with a bat,” the report said.
The report said that there were guns on both sides, noting that an employee of EH Paving fired a gun — aiming at nearby woods — to scare off the attackers, according to WMAZ
“These are adult men, too. Adult men with pretty good reputations,” Freeman said.
Employees of EH Paving suffered bumps and bruises, with one going to the hospital.
Jail records show that Mark Buckland Sr., 77, faces charges of criminal trespass, pointing a pistol at another person, and tampering with evidence.
His son, Mark Buckland Jr., 58, faces charges of criminal trespass, simple battery, and inciting a riot, People reported.
Willy Buckland Sr., 50, faces charges of criminal trespass and aggravated assault. Willy Buckland Jr., 22, Luke Buckland, 28, and James Small, 21, face charges of simple battery and criminal trespass.
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