A Villager charged with displaying a gun during a dispute over a dog got a break in court after retaining a criminal defense attorney.
Martin Lewis Levine, 57, had been arrested Nov. 14 after a verbal altercation with another individual whose dog was running loose in the Village of Fenney. During the argument, Levine raised his shirt, displaying a black handgun, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department.
He reportedly used profanity when he threatened to shoot the dog owner in the head. It was witnessed by several people. Levine’s black semi-automatic Smith & Wesson .380-caliber handgun was seized by police when he was arrested at his home at 5635 Whitetail Ave. on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon – a third-degree felony. The gun had been loaded with six live rounds. Levine remains free on $2,000 bond.
Earlier this month, Levine’s lawyer, Kenneth Lyles Foote, successfully negotiated that charge down to a misdemeanor. The New Yorker is now facing a charge of improper exhibition of a weapon, according to documents on file in Sumter County Court.
Levine is due back in court on Feb. 14.
Earlier this year he completed traffic school after he was ticketed for speeding in a construction zone, also in Sumter County.