A 26-year-old man has been charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault after he allegedly pointed a gun at a group of road construction workers in Silver Springs Shores.
On Tuesday, September 16, several Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to the intersection of Pine Road and Pine Radial in Silver Springs Shores after receiving reports that a man had pointed a firearm at a group of workers who were doing road construction in the area, according to the arrest report.
One of the deputies noted in the report that the workers had dug a large hole in the middle of the roadway, and signs were at both ends of the construction area indicating that the road was closed.
According to the report, a man – later identified as Dunnellon resident Jeremiah Jerome Brooks – was riding a dirt bike when he approached the workers. Brooks allegedly proceeded to ride through the construction area, which prompted one of the workers to “throw a small notebook” in his direction.
Moments later, Brooks fell off his dirt bike. The report stated that when Brooks stood up, he allegedly pulled out a black pistol and pointed it at the worker/first victim who had thrown the notebook.
The first victim spoke with law enforcement and claimed that while Brooks was holding the pistol, he allegedly called the group of workers a racial slur and threatened to kill them. The workers responded by walking towards Brooks, and he quickly got onto his dirt bike before riding away from the incident location, according to the report.
The report mentioned that deputies spoke with four additional workers/victims who corroborated the first victim’s statement.
Brooks was located by law enforcement. After being read his Miranda rights, Brooks admitted to riding his dirt bike through the construction area. He stated that one of the workers “threw an item” at him, which caused him to crash his vehicle, according to the report.
During the post-Miranda interview, Brooks claimed that he felt threatened by the construction workers. He allegedly told law enforcement that he “removed his firearm for protection” at the incident location, though he denied making any verbal threats.
The report stated that a 9mm handgun belonging to Brooks was recovered by investigators.
Brooks was placed under arrest and booked into Marion County Jail, where he is currently being held without bond. He is being charged with five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.
A court date for Brooks has not been scheduled yet, according to jail records.