Telegraph Staff Writer
STARKE— A Starke man was sentenced to one-year probation after pleading to pulling a gun on a woman after she began video recording him with her cell phone.
Derek Joseph Trice, 26, was arrested on March 16 for felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He pleaded to improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon, a misdemeanor.
According to an arrest report, the defendant told Starke Police Sergeant Frank W. Krol that the incident began when he shined a green laser in the direction of two women in the parking lot of the Whiskey River Saloon.
“Trice advised he went back inside when he realized (the women) were not who he thought they were,” wrote the officer.
Later, as the defendant was leaving the bar, one female, accompanied by another, approached the rear of his vehicle and began videoing him.
“Trice said he felt threatened,” Krol wrote, “so he drew his pistol, keeping it at his side and only approached the female by a few feet.”
“Trice advised he was threatened by the female with her phone…” the sergeant added, “so he was standing his ground and approached her with a gun in hand.”
Judge D. Tatum Davis ordered the defendant to complete an anger management class and submit to a drug and alcohol evaluation.
He also prohibited Trice from carrying a firearm, contacting the victim or returning to the Whiskey River Saloon.
