A 55-year-old man is facing a felony charge for aggravated assault after he allegedly pointed a rifle at two men who were approaching a fence near his property in Marion County.
On Wednesday, two Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the 15600 block of NW 27th Avenue in Reddick in reference to a verbal altercation. Upon arrival, one of the deputies made contact with the first male victim who advised that he had arrived at the incident location with the second male victim to “complete some farm work,” according to the arrest report.
The first victim told the deputy that he was outside of the fence line with the second victim when they saw Daniel Romero Medina inside his car, which was located in the middle of the field.
The first victim stated that Medina got out of his vehicle, pointed a rifle at both victims, and shouted, “If you come on this side of the fence, I have something for you.” The deputy noted in the report that the first victim advised he “felt in fear for his life” when the firearm was pointed at him, according to the MCSO report.
The deputy next spoke with the second victim who advised that he was at the incident location with the first victim to “collect cow panels” for their employee. According to the second victim’s statement in the report, the employee leased the pastureland at the incident location.
When the victims arrived at the incident location in their vehicle, the second victim provided a similar statement that Medina exited his car in the middle of the field, pointed a rifle at them, and verbally threatened them if they traveled beyond the fence, according to the MCSO report.
The second victim told the deputy that he also feared for his life during the incident, and he had backed away from the fence and called 911.
The deputy made contact with Medina. After being read his Miranda rights, Medina stated that the victims had no right to be on the property to complete their work. He stated that he leased the house situated on the property, and the pastureland was “rented out” to an individual who worked with the victims, according to the MCSO report.
Medina admitted to the deputy that he had shouted and warned the victims not to enter the property, and he further advised that he had warned them that he had a firearm. The deputy noted in the report that Medina denied pointing the rifle at the victims, and he claimed that it had remained inside his vehicle during the incident, which was parked approximately 100 yards from the fence.
When asked how the victims were able to advise that he had a rifle, Medina told the deputy that he had warned them that he had a firearm.
Medina was arrested, transported to Marion County Jail, and he was later released on $2,000 bond. He is facing a felony charge for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.
A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.