A Florida man could be facing charges of aggrevated assault with a firearm after pulling an assault rifle on a Black man who partially blocked his driveway with a trailer ramp in the town of Clearwater.
David Berry, 44, walked down his driveway with rifle in hand screaming at Jeremy Lee, 46, for blocking his driveway. Mr Lee’s daugther, Carrie, began filming the incident – which appeared to further enrage Mr Berry.
“This is my property!” Mr Berry can be heard yelling at Mr Lee at the beginning of the video. “You’re not allowed to block my driveway! Don’t be a prick!”
Mr Berry then turns his attention to the recording being made by Mr Lee’s daugther, threatening her with a lawsuit.
“Your daughter better take record of how stupid her father is,” Mr Berry said. “Keep recording! If it goes online, your a** will be sued too.”
Mr Lee, who was working with J&S Outdoor Maintenance on a neighbouring property, told WFLA that he had already moved his trailer and apologised to Mr Berry when Mr Berry returned to his house to get the rifle and began threatening him.
“I immediately moved,” Mr Lee told the television station. “I stopped what I was doing and I moved up, and like I said, just wasn’t good enough for him and I apologised to him.”
Mr Berry, clearly not satisfied by the apology, told Mr Lee that he would “blast your f***ing head off because you’re a dumba***.”
Mr Berry has had run-ins with the law previously. The Daily Mail reported that construction company owner has in the past been charged with battery, burglary and petit theft and plead guilty to misdemenours. He is now facing another possible set of charges from the Clearwater Police Department.
In a statement, Clearwater Police Chief Dan Slaughter expressed his disappointment and frustration with Mr Berry’s handling of the situation.
“The bottom line is a dispute over parking should never have escalated to something like this,” Mr Slaughter said. “If you have a problem with someone partially blocking the driveway, you call the police. You don’t grab a gun like some vigilante.”
“We are actively investigating this incident and will be presenting the case to the Office of the State Attorney,” the officer said.
Ultimately, it was Mr Lee and his daughter who summoned the police and said that they feared for their lives when Mr Berry returned with the rifle.
“I was really worried about her,” Mr Lee told the television station. “I was stunned. I think I said you’re going to kill me in front of my daughter?”
