A St. Johns County man was arrested Sunday afternoon after deputies say he threatened a pair of frightened motorists with a firearm and squeezed off a shot near their vehicle in a residential area of Hastings.
According to an arrest report from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the incident around 12:33 p.m. on Jan. 4 on Hennessey Avenue.
Investigators allege that a 54-year-old man confronted two people in a car after they had mistakenly driven down a dead-end road while following their car’s GPS directions.
The victims told deputies that the suspect approached them holding what appeared to be a rifle, advised them to get lost, and made threatening statements.
The report states that the man then fired a round into the ground within three feet of their vehicle and then pointed the firearm at them.
The victims said they recognized the shell casing and quickly backed their vehicle back out of the dead end.
A witness later told deputies that he heard a gunshot around the time of the incident, and the suspect was later arrested at his home without incident.
He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, improper exhibition of a firearm, and firing a weapon in public or on residential property.
He was booked into the St. Johns County Jail and his case is pending.
