A Florida Construction company owner faces charges after he pulled an assault rifle during an altercation with a black landscaper who blocked his driveway.
Shocking footage shows the moment David Berry, 44, marched down his driveway with an assault rifle in hand, yelling at J&S Outdoor Maintenance’s Jeremy Lee, 46, for partially blocking his driveway with a slipway while he was at the front lawn of a neighbor was working .
“This is my property,” Berry of Fat Finger Construction yells as he is armed after Lee’s vehicle has already been moved.
“You can’t block my driveway. Do not be angry.’
The Clearwater Police Department said it will refer the case to the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s Office on possible charges of aggravated assault with a firearm against Berry, WFLA reported.
David Berry, 44, of Fat Finger Construction, pulled out a shotgun when he yelled at landscaper Jeremy Lee after his driveway was partially blocked by Lee’s slipway
Lee (right) said he moved his car and apologized after Berry confronted him on Thursday in Clearwater, Florida, but claimed Berry continued to yell at him gun in hand
The neighbor who hired Lee to mow his lawn took a photo of Berry’s driveway, which was only partially blocked by the driveway after Lee unloaded a lawnmower
Lee said he and his daughter Carrie, 22, who filmed the encounter, were traumatized by the incident, which happened Thursday after the father-and-daughter duo arrived to do some yard work on Boylan Avenue in Clearwater.
Lee said Berry had come out of his house, angry that the slipway was blocking part of his driveway.
“I moved right away,” Lee told WFLA. “I stopped what I was doing and moved upstairs, and like I said just wasn’t good enough for him and I apologized to him.”
Lee said Berry returned, now armed with a rifle, while his daughter pulled out her phone and captured the tense moment.
“You think I’m playing,” Berry yelled at them. ‘Punk ass. Your daughter had better write down how stupid her father is.’
“Keep recording,” he warned Carrie. “If it goes online, you a** will be sued too.”
“I’ll blow your goddamn head off because you’re an asshole,” Berry added at the end of the video.
Lee, who called Berry a “stupid bastard” for pointing the gun at him, said he was concerned for his daughter’s safety.
“I was stunned,” Lee said. “I think I said, ‘You’re going to kill me in front of my daughter?’
Carrie told WFLA she also feared the worst.
“Honestly, I thought he was going to take my father’s life,” she said. ‘Then I thought, ‘Well, if you take his, he’ll probably take mine.’
Berry declined DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
During the altercation, Berry, who has faced several charges in the past, yelled that he would shoot Lee “because you’re an idiot.”
Lee, pictured, has called on authorities to not only press charges against Berry, but also remove his weapons, given his past battery, burglary and petty theft allegations
Lee said he and his daughter then called the Clearwater Police Department, who denounced the incident.
“The bottom line is that a parking dispute should never have escalated to something like this,” Clearwater Police Chief Dan Slaughter said in a statement.
“If you have a problem with someone partially blocking the driveway, call the police. You don’t pick up a gun like a vigilante.’
This isn’t Berry’s first run-in with the law, as the construction company owner has previously been indicted on past battery, burglary and petty theft charges, all of which have been attributed to felony felonies, according to Pinellas County data. Court.
Given his previous accusations and anger during their confrontation, Lee has called for the police to take Berry’s weapons away.
“I don’t think he should have the right to bear arms,” Lee told WFLA.
He added that several family members would meet with his city council leaders later this month to push for gun law reform.