U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement put a hold on a Wildwood man who allegedly pointed a BB gun at three people.
Deputies responded to an armed and dangerous call involving 39-year-old Jose Alberto Lopez Hernandez at an undisclosed residence in Wildwood around 9:45 p.m. Sunday, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
Upon arrival, they found three female victims running across an open field from County Road 159, back to their home. They were commanded to come out, to which they complied, along with Lopez Hernandez. He immediately stated he did nothing wrong, and he was only drinking. He also said he had a “BB gun maybe” when asked about being armed, the report said.
The first victim subsequently told law enforcement that Lopez Hernandez was on the phone when he got upset. This scared the third victim, a juvenile, so she told her to go out for a walk. The first victim claimed nothing happened at this time, they were just at home drinking beers and washing cars, the report said.
She denied Lopez Hernandez pointing the BB gun at her or the other victims. She then escorted a deputy inside the residence, where the BB gun was found on the ground of the front porch. There were also glass jars of sugar thrown on the kitchen floor, which she stated might have been thrown by Lopez Hernandez when law enforcement was called, the report said.
The second victim corroborated this account. She also denied seeing a BB gun or having one pointed at her. She stated this was all just an argument that the nieghbors probably overheard and called the police, the report said.
However, the third victim was visibly upset and crying. She was the one who called law enforcement due to being scared and not wanting to be around Lopez Hernandez anymore, the report said.
She explained it began as a normal day until Lopez Hernandez started drinking and arguing on the phone. She originally went to hide in the bathroom because he wanted to hurt people. He had a BB gun, and he got in a car to chase her and the other two victims when they left the residence to get away, the report said.
He and the first victim argued over car keys, and when she could not get them, all three of the victims left on foot. He proceeded to get in his car and drove around looking for them while they hid. She confirmed he pointed the BB gun at all three of them, the report said.
Additionally, a witness attested to hearing a lot of angry yelling and what sounded like a door slamming. Another witness saw the three victims running across the street from their residence and a man yelling at them. The man got in a car and drove around the block, which was at the time the first witness saw the trio running back to the house, the report said.
Lopez Hernandez was ultimately arrested on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill. He was transported to the Sumter County Detention Center where ICE placed a hold on him.