A 20-year-old Ocala man previously acquitted of attempted murder was arrested early Thursday after he allegedly barged into a woman’s apartment and pointed a loaded gun at her and her infant daughter.
Ricky L. Brown was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, burglary with assault, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after the incident, which happened around 2 a.m. at the Parkside Garden Apartments, 621 NW 2nd St.
Ocala Police officers responded to the scene and were told Brown was still inside the apartment. As the victim and her daughter were leaving the apartment, Brown and another male came out of a room and were detained. The victim identified Brown as the suspect. A pat-down search of Brown did not turn up a weapon, according to the police report.
The victim told officers that Brown, who has tried to date her, entered her unlocked apartment without being invited. She said she saw the outline of a gun in Brown’s right basketball shorts pocket and told him to leave. At that point, Brown took out the gun and began waving it around while yelling at her. The victim said she then called 911 and Brown pointed the dark-colored revolver with a brown handle at her and her daughter and said he would end their lives, but he didn’t fire it, the report said.
The victim said Brown eventually walked outside the apartment and began making a scene with other people, waving the gun around, before coming back inside. She said he went into her daughter’s room, where a male friend of hers was hiding. The victim said words were exchanged between the two, but she didn’t know what was said. She said Brown went into her bedroom and was there when police arrived and ordered everybody out of the apartment, according to the report.
The victim’s friend said when he and Brown were in the bedroom, Brown snatched a black fanny pack from him forcefully. He said he didn’t resist because Brown had a firearm and he didn’t want to get hurt. He refused to cooperate as a victim in this case of petit theft and said he wanted no involvement as a victim, the report said.
Brown told officers he was ordered to leave the apartment by the victim, but he refused to go because he was waiting on a “ride” from a friend. Brown said he didn’t want to leave or wait outside. He said he should have left when told by the victim and he understands he was trespassing at that point. He continued to deny he used a firearm inside the apartment and said the victim was lying, according to the report.
An officer searched the apartment and found a gun matching the victim’s description in a black fanny pack partially under the bed in the victim’s bedroom. The firearm was a Winchester .38 special snub nose revolver fully loaded with .38 special rounds, the report said.
A search of Marion County Jail records shows, Brown was released May 13 after spending 11 months behind bars for violation of probation on a battery conviction. He was charged with and later acquitted of attempted murder in the shooting of a 16-year-old boy in June 2018.
As Brown was placed in handcuffs, he began to make statements such as, “I’m sorry,” and continued to insist there was no firearm involved in this incident. He was taken to the jail, where he remained Sunday on $65,000 bond. He’ll answer to the latest charges in Marion County Court on Aug. 13.