A 30-year-old man was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly pointed a gun at another man and his child during a road rage incident in Ocala.
On Sunday, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy made contact with the male victim who advised that he was traveling in his vehicle with his child on U.S. Highway 27 when another vehicle, an older model gray pickup truck, swerved in front of him, according to the arrest report.
The victim stated that the driver of the pickup truck, later identified as Eric Djamjian, “gave him the middle finger.” After the victim responded with the same action, Djamjian allegedly escalated the road rage incident by pulling out a small 9mm semi-automatic handgun.
According to the victim’s statement, Djamjian “slowed down and then sped up beside him” while traveling westbound on U.S. Highway 27. The victim claimed that Djamjian pointed the firearm at him and his child, who was seated in the passenger seat.
The victim and his child both told the deputy that they feared for their lives during the incident.
The deputy utilized various “investigative resources,” which led to the deputy identifying Djamjian as the registered owner of the pickup truck involved in the incident. The deputy then spoke with Djamjian over the phone, and he agreed to meet law enforcement at a local Dollar General store, according to the report.
At the store, the deputy read Djamjian his Miranda rights, and he agreed to discuss the incident. He stated that the road rage incident began when the victim’s vehicle kept his pickup truck from being able to move around another vehicle while on U.S. Highway 27.
The deputy noted in the report that during the post-Miranda interview, Djamjian repeatedly changed his account of the incident in a “seemingly evasive manner.” He admitted to having a compact black 9mm semi-automatic pistol in his pickup truck, which matched the description given by the victims, though he denied pointing the firearm at them during the incident.
Djamjian initially told the deputy that the pistol was “near the cup holders” in the pickup truck before stating that it was “actually on the passenger side.” He then stated that he was holding the firearm in his lap when he accidentally dropped his cellphone on the floorboard. He further claimed that at one point, he reached for his phone while the gun was still in his hand, according to the report.
Both victims responded to the Dollar General store and positively identified Djamjian’s pickup truck as being the vehicle that was involved in the road rage incident. The report stated that they were also able to describe Djamjian’s firearm in “almost perfect detail.”
Djamjian was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail, where he is currently being held on a $10,000 bond. He is being charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.
A court date has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.