A Leesburg man has been arrested for the second time this month, this time for allegedly using a firearm to threaten a neighbor after he parked his RV in the roadway.
George Gray, 54, was arrested for an incident involving a firearm on April 4 at the Arlington Ridge community, where he resides.
His arrest April 12 stems from an incident which occurred in March.
On the evening of March 7, officers responded to a weapons complaint, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. Contact was made with the victim upon arrival.
The victim stated that while he was parking his RV in front of his house, a truck passed him. He knew the driver as only “George.” Officers had a previous encounter with Gray at his listed address, 4322 Arlington Ridge Boulevard, the report said.
As the truck passed the victim, Gray rolled down the window and showed the victim his middle finger. He complained about the victim parking his RV in front of the house. The victim went inside his home and went back outside moments later to see Gray walking from down the street, the report said.
The victim told Gray he called an undisclosed community group regarding his behavior, at which point Gray began screaming at him from a few properties down. He cursed at the victim and yelled “we are doing this” while reaching into his waistband. The victim ran inside his home and had no further contact with Gray. He believed he saw an object shaped like a handgun having been retrieved by Gray out of his waistband, the report said.
While on scene, two officers spoke with an independent witness to the incident. He stated that at about 8:45 p.m., he was watching TV when he heard yelling coming from the street outside. He saw a tall man wearing a baseball cap yelling at someone down the street out of his line of sight, the report said.
The witness continued, advising that the man pulled what appeared to be a gun out of his waistband and racked the slide while pointing it in the air. After doing so, he walked down the street away from the victim’s residence. The witness was unable to positively identify the object, the report said.
On Friday morning, another deputy responded to the residence for a supplemental investigation. He met with the victim, explaining that he was going over the case. The victim stated that he was okay with that, and he still remembered the incident, the report said.
In a more detailed interview, the victim stated that around 8 p.m. on March 7, he was parking his RV in front of his residence and observed a gray or silver RAM truck behind him as he was parking. The vehicle then went around him, and he observed a man lower the front driver’s side window and show him his middle finger. He knew this man to be “George G” from previous encounters with him, the report said.
The victim went inside his residence and told his wife what happened. He then went back outside to attend to the RV. As he did this, he saw the same man that was driving the truck walking toward him, the report said.
Gray was in the middle of the road screaming “you want to do this” with his arms up in the air. The victim perceived that he wanted to fight him. He ignored Gray, but he kept walking toward him, now on the sidewalk. As he got within 50-75 feet of him, the victim observed him take a handgun out of the front of his waistband. The victim ran inside his house in fear for his life, the report said.
The victim could not give a physical description of the handgun in question. He knew what a gun looked like because he owned one as well. However, he stated the suspected male was wearing jeans and a button-down shirt that he believed was completely opened. He did not remember if the suspect was wearing an under shirt, the report said.
The officer next interviewed the witness who reiterated his account of the incident. He added that he used to be in law enforcement and had been at a gun range a lot throughout his career. He knew what guns looked like. Yet, he would not be able to positively identify the suspect male as it was very dark outside the day of incident and was not able to see identifying features, the report said.
Multiple officers then responded to 4305 Arlington Ridge Boulevard and contacted Gray. They read him his rights and advised him of the incident that happened on March 7. Gray initially stated that he did not know what they were talking about, the report said.
The investigating officer asked Gray if he had been in an argument regarding the parking of an RV. Gray admitted that he knew what he was referring to and remembered the incident. He stated that he observed an RV being parked in the roadway, and as he was waiting behind it, the vehicles behind him began beeping their horns. So, he drove around the RV and parked his vehicle. He stated that he never made contact with anyone or spoke to anyone about the incident, the report said.
That same morning, the officer requested a photo line-up be prepared. When it was finished, another officer with no case involvement responded to the victim’s address. The line-up was administered to the victim who picked out Gray’s photo, the report said.
At about 12:33 p.m. April 12 officers returned to Gray’s residence where he was detained in handcuffs and placed under arrest on charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill. The New York native was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $5,000 bond.
The report noted that Gray was arrested for an incident involving a firearm on April 4. The firearm in question was recovered during this investigation by officers on scene. It was a black pellet gun.
