A doctor who fired a gun during a road rage confrontation with cheese-chucking teens is on track to avoid charges after entering a deferred prosecution agreement, court records show.
Dr. Bruce L. Mitchell, 67, a Ponte Vedra Beach physician and former Mayo Clinic doctor, was arrested in May after allegedly pursuing a group of teenagers who had been tossing slices of cheese at cars from their vehicle as a prank.
The minors were all student-athletes at a prominent Jacksonville private school.
At one point during the pursuit, Mitchell, a military veteran, fired a single shot into the air near the intersection of A1A and Sawgrass Drive.
The teens called police who eventually pulled Mitchell over in his Range Rover and took him into custody without incident.
He initially told authorities he believed the teens had fired at him first. But investigators found no weapons in the teens’ vehicle and no physical evidence to support his claim.
All felony aggravated assault charges against Mitchell were dropped on June 6, but he still faces a felony count of discharging a firearm from a vehicle and a misdemeanor charge of improper display of a firearm.
Mitchell is being represented by Brian Coughlin, a prominent Jacksonville defense attorney and son of former Jaguars head coach Tom Coughlin. The younger Coughlin, a partner at the Bedell Firm, has declined public comment on the case.
As part of the deferred prosecution agreement, Mitchell must complete Veterans Treatment Court, a diversion program that focuses on rehabilitation for veterans dealing with mental health, substance abuse, or trauma-related issues.
He is also required to pay $200 in legal costs and will serve five years of probation for the felony count and 364 days for the misdemeanor.
If he successfully completes all conditions of the DPA, the remaining charges could be dismissed, allowing him to avoid a criminal conviction.
If he violates the agreement, prosecution could resume.
The Sawgrass resident previously led the Hospital Medicine program at Emory University and spent more than a decade at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.
