A bus passenger was arrested after allegedly threatening the driver as well as passengers at a transit stop waiting for a ride.
An officer responded to the LYNX park and ride bus station, located near 1995 S. U.S. Hwy. 27, regarding a man threatening the bus driver and saying he had a gun on him around 7:36 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17, according to an arrest report from the Clermont Police Department. Dispatch advised that the suspect, later identified as 37-year-old Eric John Scott of Anthony, left and was walking south toward Steves Road.
Once in the area, the officer immediately found Scott walking on the sidewalk back toward the bus which was still stopped at the station. The officer turned on emergency lights, stepped out of his vehicle and drew a Glock 47 due to the threat Scott allegedly made about having a gun. Scott turned and threw an object down a hill so the officer would not see what he had, the report said.
The officer ordered Scott to lay flat on his stomach with his arms to his sides until a backup unit arrived. Once they had, he placed Scott in handcuffs and secured him the back of a patrol vehicle. The officer then walked down the hill to find what Scott threw and discovered an open alcohol container branded “E&J 80 proof” which was about half empty, the report said.
An officer tried to read Scott his rights and speak with him, but he was obviously intoxicated with bloodshot, glassy and watery eyes and the smell of alcohol on him. The officer moved on to the driver of the public Lake County Transit bus. The report noted she was wearing her employee uniform with a yellow traffic vest at the time of the interaction.
The employee advised that Scott had approached the bus as it pulled into the stop and immediately began trying to “pry” the bus doors open with his hands. She opened the doors to let passengers in, and he approached the driver’s seat with her in it. He leaned around the clear partition that separated her from the passengers, and she told him to back up, the report said.
Scott started to back up and said he would “beat” her if she got off the bus. As he stepped off the bus and stood in the doorway, he told her, “I have a gun.” He left soon after, the report said.
The comments Scott made scared the employee, and she felt as if the threat was credible because she did not have a weapon on her at the time and did not have a way to protect herself from him. Additionally, before she arrived at the stop, another bus driver had an interaction with Scott wherein he got onto the bus and sat in the driver’s seat without permission, the report said.
The officer also spoke with three witnesses on scene. They each had separate interactions with Scott at the bus stop before the bus got there. He tried to take a cellphone from one, tried to take a bike from another and continuously harassed the last. They all saw him yelling at the bus driver but did not hear the exact wording, the report said.
The officer briefly talked to another officer on scene who advised that after reading Scott his rights, he stated he intentionally threw the bottle of alcohol so he could not be arrested for having an open container in public. This showed he intentionally tried to conceal physical evidence of a crime, the report said.
The officer again tried speaking with Scott about the situation. But every time he tried to talk, Scott yelled, screamed, hit his head on the vehicle and asked if he was going to jail rather than engage in an adult conversation. It was obvious he was under the influence of alcohol. Due to his disorderly intoxication carrying over into law enforcement’s presence and his decision to throw the bottle to avoid a perceived criminal charge, he was placed under custodial arrest, the report said.
The report noted that before receiving this 911 call for service, the CPD got another call from Arby’s, located at 2255 U.S. Hwy. 27, also in reference to Scott causing a disturbance at the restaurant.
Scott was ultimately charged with tampering with evidence, disorderly intoxication and assault (on a public transit employee). The Georgia native was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $6,500.