A 52-year-old Lake County man was arrested in Apopka after deputies say he walked down a roadway pointing a loaded, stolen handgun at passing cars, including one carrying a grandmother driving her grandchildren to school. George Edwards Stone put the gun down and complied with deputies' commands once confronted, and he was taken into custody without further incident.
According to WFTV, a sheriff's deputy responded around 9:28 a.m. on Wednesday to reports of an armed pedestrian in the road near West McCormick Road in Apopka. The deputy found Stone holding a handgun in a nearby Circle K parking lot. Stone now faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and improper exhibition of a firearm, the outlet reports.
The driver who called 911 told investigators that Stone aimed the gun directly at her car while she was stopped at a traffic light, with her granddaughters in the vehicle as she drove them to school, per the arrest report cited by WFTV. She reversed to put more distance between herself and Stone, then watched as he aimed the weapon at other drivers before she dialed 911.
A Stolen Gun With One Round Chambered
The handgun recovered from Stone had one round in the chamber and had been reported stolen out of Lake County in December 2025, according to the arrest report. Stone claimed he had possessed the gun for about two months and admitted to firing it into the ground several times earlier that day at an unspecified location, the same report states.
Florida law treats stolen firearms seriously regardless of the weapon's age or condition. The Law Offices of Robert David Malove explains that under Florida Statute § 812.014(2), firearm theft is treated as grand theft regardless of the gun's market value, noting that lawmakers removed monetary thresholds for gun theft due to public safety concerns over stolen weapons entering circulation. It remains an open question whether prosecutors will pursue additional charges such as grand theft of a firearm based on Stone's admissions, along with how he came to possess the stolen weapon and what his prior criminal record looks like across Lake and Orange counties.
What Stone Could Face in Court
Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill is a third-degree felony under Florida Statute § 784.021, punishable by up to five years in state prison and a $5,000 fine. But because a firearm was allegedly involved, Stone's exposure may be steeper: under Florida's 10-20-Life sentencing framework, § 775.087, an aggravated assault committed with a firearm carries a mandatory minimum of three years in state prison upon conviction, according to the Law Offices of David J. Sobel P.A., which notes that aggravated assault does not require intent to kill and describes the firearm enhancement.
The improper exhibition charge carries its own separate penalties. Florida Statute § 790.10 classifies improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon or firearm as a first-degree misdemeanor, with maximum penalties of up to one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine, per Pumphrey Law. That charge applies when a weapon is displayed in a rude, careless, angry, or threatening manner in the presence of others.
Part of a Troubling Pattern on Apopka Roads
This is not the first time an armed confrontation has erupted on Apopka streets this year. In March, Hoodline reported that police arrested a suspect after a bullet pierced both windshields of a victim's vehicle following a road-rage dispute that began inside a U.S. 441 store. In August, an Apopka bystander was fatally shot near Plymouth Sorrento and West Ponkan roads after trying to break up a roadside fight between a driver and passenger following a crash, according to Hoodline's prior coverage.
ATF tracking data from 2019 through 2023 found that 95.3% of the more than one million firearms reported stolen nationwide were taken directly from civilian gun owners, according to Ammo.com, which estimates that 200,000 to 380,000 firearms are stolen from civilians in the U.S. each year.
Locally, the Orange County Sheriff's Office reported making 755 arrests in 2025 in cases where firearms were illegally possessed or used in robberies, shootings, and carjackings, according to a January statement from the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff John Mina also reported in July that violent crime in the county dropped 29% from 2021 to 2025. Overall crime fell 29% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.
Road-rage incidents involving firearms have also drawn statewide attention. State Attorney Monique Worrell noted in April 2025 that Florida led the nation with 27 reported road-rage incidents involving firearms in early 2025, as reported by WFTV, with local prosecutors repeatedly urging drivers to stay inside their vehicles during traffic disputes rather than confront other motorists.
