Kenneth Justesen faces charges for allegedly brandishing a gun and threatening patrons at a Wilton Manors gay bar. – Photo: Wilton Manors Police Department, via WSVN.
A drunk man was arrested after flashing a gun and threatening to shoot people outside a gay bar in Wilton Manors, Florida.
The incident occurred last Friday outside Gym Bar, a gay bar in the 2200 block of Wilton Drive.
“He was cursing and started threatening people that he lost his cellphone and lost whatever he lost,” said Andy, a patron who confronted the drunk man when he began threatening a group of women.
“I just told him…to get away, and then he brought his attention to me, and then I screamed at him,” Andy told South Florida-based Fox News affiliate WSVN.
Video taken from Friday night shows the suspect staggering around, heckling people while smoking a cigarette.
“The gentleman had lost his phone and he was really upset about it, and he started making threats that if he found the person with his phone, he was gonna put a bullet in the back of his head,” said witness Anthony Robinson.
The man eventually got into an argument and pulled out a gun, prompting patrons to call 911.
“He started calling out [another patron by] his name, ‘You that, you this,’ all these names,” Robinson said. “The guy stood up in defense of being called names and that’s when the guy with the gun pulled out the gun and held it back, and the other guy just pulled himself back. He knew that if he egged this guy on, in his mind, he had the right to use his gun.”
Police arriving on scene observed the man, later identified as 45-year-old Kenneth Justesen, of Oakland Park, complaining about his lost phone and threatening people. Officers arrested Justesen, placing him in handcuffs and confiscating his gun.
According to a police report, the firearm was loaded and had one round in the chamber and an additional eight rounds in the magazine. Luckily, no one was injured in the incident.
Justesen has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, improperly displaying a firearm, and using a firearm while under the influence. He has since been released on bond.
“I didn’t notice he had a gun behind him, because he was trying to make me hit him first,” said Andy. “Luckily I was sober, because I was driving. I didn’t take his bait. You know, I didn’t take his bait because I know better.”
A Florida man has been arrested and charged with the murder of Girlalala, a 21-year-old transgender TikTok influencer, after allegedly shooting her during what appears to have been a dispute between the couple.
Broward County Sheriff's Office deputies say 25-year-old Shanoyd Whyte Jr. shot Girlalala shortly before 7 p.m. on Friday, November 14, while the two were sitting in a car on the side of the road in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida.
According to Miami-based WPLG, video from a nearby Tesla shows a man believed to be Whyte getting out of the driver's side of a sedan as Girlalala tries to exit the passenger side. He appears to grab her by the hair and force her back inside before pacing outside the car with a cellphone in hand.
Tyler Getchell of Jacksonville, Florida, has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting and partially paralyzing his neighbor, Kyle McFarlane, during an argument over what Getchell believed was trespassing.
McFarlane told police he was gathering discarded furniture for a bonfire on November 22 when Getchell and his girlfriend came outside and yelled at him to get off their property, First Coast News reported.
According to the police report, video footage shows McFarlane standing on a property easement -- not on his neighbors' land -- just before the shooting.
The city of St. Petersburg has installed 11 rainbow-colored bike racks in response to the removal of several street murals -- including a Pride-themed mural -- by the Florida Department of Transportation.
The racks were installed in the Grand Central District at Central Avenue and 25th Street, the former location of one of five murals removed at the direction of federal and state authorities.
The mural at Central Avenue and 25th Street featured colored stripes representing the progressive Pride flag and was located just steps from Ride'em Cowboy, one of the city’s best-known LGBTQ nightclubs and a "safe space" for the community, according to Florida Politics.
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