A confrontation outside Marion Street Bistro early Saturday led to the arrest of a 21-year-old man after police say he pointed a firearm at a group of people outside the downtown Lake City bar and then fled in a pickup truck. Officers booked Cohen David into the Columbia County Detention Center on charges of aggravated assault and property damage following the confrontation, which unfolded around 1:40 a.m.
Argument Inside The Bar Spills Into The Street
According to WCJB, Lake City police responded to reports of a disturbance outside Marion Street Bistro on North Marion Avenue around 1:40 a.m. on November 7. Investigators said an argument that started inside the bar escalated into a confrontation outside, where witnesses reported seeing David point a firearm toward a group of people before leaving the scene in a white Ford pickup truck.
Investigators said surveillance video showed David holding what appeared to be an AR-style firearm near the truck, the station's report notes. The vehicle's driver also told police that David struck the vehicle with the firearm, causing damage to it, according to the same account.
Arrest Follows Search By Local And County Officers
Lake City police officers, working alongside the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, located David and took him into custody after the confrontation. He was then booked into the Columbia County Detention Center to face the aggravated assault and property damage charges.
Under Florida law, aggravated assault includes an assault committed with a deadly weapon without an intent to kill, and the offense is classified as a third-degree felony, according to Florida Legislature, Online Sunshine. No police incident report, arrest affidavit, or booking record was independently reviewed for this account, and it remains unclear how David's case will proceed through the courts.
Not The First Lake City Gun-Brandishing Allegation This Year
This is not the only time this year Lake City police have accused someone of brandishing a firearm at a crowd. Back in April, officers said 30-year-old Rasheem Gaskens was waving a gun at an Easter gathering near Northwest Alma Street and Jefferson Street around 10:30 p.m., and he was arrested about an hour later, per a separate WCJB report. That earlier report said Gaskens was facing criminal charges but did not specify what they were. Two isolated incidents months apart aren't enough to point to a broader pattern in the city, but both cases ended the same way: police responding to reports of a gun pointed at a group of strangers, and an arrest that followed soon after.
