Venice man armed with brass knuckles asks son to grab gun during road rage incident, deputies say
VENICE, Fla. - After a fishing trip with his son at Casperson Beach Park, a man was arrested for threatening another driver on Sunday night, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.
Around 7:18 p.m., authorities say a man drove up to a deputy's patrol car at the sheriff's office's "South Office" parking lot and began screaming for help. The man told law enforcement that a driver, later identified as 35-year-old Justin Cecil, had pointed a gun at him.
According to the victim, Cecil cut him off while he was driving north on US-41 and other drivers were yelling at Cecil for erratic driving.
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The victim told law enforcement that he was trying to escape Cecil, but he followed him into a parking lot at 4365 Englewood Rd. Officials say the victim told them that Cecil was wearing black brass knuckles when he got out of his truck.
The two men got "chest to chest" and the victim says Cecil yelled about how he had killed people in Iraq, according to the sheriff's office.
Authorities say Cecil then yelled for his son to grab his gun. The victim says when he opened the case and grabbed the gun, magazines fell out and Cecil pointed the firearm at him.
According to the sheriff's office, the victim felt threatened and afraid, so he immediately got back in his car and headed to the sheriff's office.
Courtesy: Sarasota County Sheriff's Office
The victim described the vehicle Cecil was driving as a silver Ford F-150, according to officials.
Authorities say Cecil drove by the sheriff's office located at 4531 Annex Rd. while the victim was still reporting the incident to deputies. According to officials, the victim shouted "there's the car!"
Deputies went after Cecil as he continued to speed away and drive erratically while trying to evade officials, according to law enforcement. Authorities say his son was still riding in the passenger's seat.
Eventually, deputies say Cecil pulled over and was told to exit the truck. When he got out of the vehicle he began to stumble and almost fell to the ground, according to the sheriff's office.
Deputies say after Cecil was told to lay face down on the ground, he reached into the pockets of his shorts and pulled out hand-gun magazines that he attempted to toss underneath the truck.
According to authorities, deputies also found brass knuckles in his front right pocket and a gun case was seen on the passenger floorboard of his truck.
Cecil told law enforcement that him and the other driver involved in the road rage incident agreed to pull over in the parking lot, according to the arrest affidavit.
Deputies say Cecil said he saw a black nylon pistol case in the victim's hands. However, after searching the victim's vehicle, SCSO did not find any guns or gun cases.
When Cecil was asked why he tried to speed away from law enforcement, deputies say he responded, "I don't know, I was just being stupid I guess."
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While questioning him, deputies noticed that his eyes were extremely bloodshot and watery, and he continuously slurred his speech.
The sheriff's office says he admitted to having multiple drinks earlier in the day while fishing with his son but refused to perform field sobriety exercises.
According to Saraosta County deputies, Cecil was arrested and charged with:
- Aggravated Assault - Weapon: with deadly weapon without intent to kill
- Assault: Aggravated with intent to commit a felony
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