Drunk Man Arrested for Brandishing Gun Outside Gay Bar
Florida man faces aggravated assault and weapons-related charges after drunkenly confronting patrons and threatening to shoot them.
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.”
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