A 22-year-old Palm Bay man was arrested at Vero Beach Airport on Tuesday after allegedly groping diners inside an airport restaurant and then spitting on the officers who responded to break it up. Chandler Robert Gousie now faces two felony counts of battery on a law enforcement officer and a misdemeanor charge of disorderly public intoxication.
According to WPEC, Gousie had arrived from New York before the incident unfolded at CJ Cannons, a restaurant on the airport grounds. Staff there reported an obnoxious, heavily intoxicated individual inappropriately touching people inside the diner, per the arrest affidavit cited in the station's report. A Vero Beach Airport officer was dispatched to the restaurant just after 1 p.m. Tuesday in response to those complaints.
Groping Allegations Lead to Physical Confrontation With Police
Once officers arrived, the situation reportedly escalated quickly. The station's report states that Gousie spit repeatedly at responding officers, with saliva striking Officer T. Stewart's right arm and coating Officer Eder's protective vest. Officer Stewart also observed Gousie as very animated, flailing his hands and screaming from the backseat of a patrol car, the same account says.
Gousie reportedly acknowledged that he was intoxicated and said he was too impaired to drive, adding that he had already ordered an Uber, per the affidavit details relayed in the report. Despite that, he was later spotted behind the wheel of his personal vehicle, according to the same account.
Felony Charges Held Without Bond
Gousie was ultimately transported to the Indian River County Jail, where he faces the two felony battery counts and the misdemeanor intoxication charge. The battery-on-a-law-enforcement-officer charges are being held with no bond, the report notes. He was also trespassed from both CJ Cannons restaurant and the Vero Beach Airport property.
An arrest listing on florida.arrests.org also documents the September 22 Florida arrest under Gousie's name. As with any arrest record, people featured may not have been convicted and are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
No court filings, attorney statements, or accounts from the diner patrons involved have been made public, and it remains unclear whether Gousie has entered a plea or secured legal representation.
