A parking lot standoff outside a St. Augustine Target turned into a felony arrest after a 58-year-old woman allegedly raised a handgun at four occupants of another vehicle, which was blocking the car carrying her as it tried to back out of a space. The confrontation happened around 12:35 p.m. on a Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Target on U.S. 1 South, according to St. Augustine police.
The dispute began in the most mundane way, according to a report from sjcitizen.com: the victims' vehicle was blocking the car carrying the suspect as it tried to back out of a space, while the victim's husband returned a shopping cart. The driver whose path was blocked grew impatient, and the victim moved her vehicle forward to clear the way and apologized, according to News4JAX. Despite the apology, the situation escalated quickly, and the passenger in the other vehicle allegedly raised a black handgun with a green slide and waved it toward the occupants of the blocked car, per the same sjcitizen.com account.
Victims Said They Feared For Their Lives
The four people in the targeted vehicle told police they feared for their lives and called 911, the report notes. As the confrontation unfolded, the suspect allegedly told the group, “This is what happens when you yell at people,” according to the sjcitizen.com account of the police report.
Investigators said the victims managed to provide the suspect vehicle's license plate number to officers, which proved to be the break that cracked the case. That plate search led investigators to a residence in the Palatka area, per News4JAX.
Dashcam And Store Cameras Captured The Moment
Police said an independent witness came forward with dash camera footage that clearly captured the alleged offense, while Target's own surveillance system also recorded the confrontation, the sjcitizen.com report states. Investigators said the dash camera footage clearly showed the crime being committed, according to police cited by News4JAX.
A Putnam County Sheriff's Office sergeant tracked down the vehicle's driver and her sister at the registered owner's home in Palatka, the report notes. The sister was identified as the alleged passenger who had brandished the firearm, and both women reportedly wore the same clothes and shoes and carried the same style purses when deputies made contact, according to News4JAX.
Matching Handguns, Separate Interviews
Both women were found to possess Sig Sauer 9mm handguns, which the Putnam County Sheriff's Office took into evidence. At police request, the sisters agreed to drive themselves to St. Augustine police headquarters for separate interviews rather than being taken into custody on the spot, per the sjcitizen.com account.
During her interview, the suspect was read her Miranda rights and said she understood them before agreeing to speak with officers, according to the report. She admitted to having an altercation with the victims at Target and acknowledged grabbing her holstered firearm from the center console, placing it near the passenger door, police said. She told investigators she did not remember exactly what she did with the gun after that, according to the same account relayed by News4JAX, though an arrest report cited by sjcitizen.com states she separately admitted brandishing the firearm at the victims.
Four Felony Counts, Third-Degree Charges
The woman was ultimately arrested on four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and transported to the St. Johns County Jail, per News4JAX. Under Florida Statutes § 784.021, aggravated assault is defined as an assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, or an assault committed with intent to commit a felony, and the charge is classified as a third-degree felony.
The St. Augustine case echoes, though it does not establish any pattern beyond, a separate incident outside a Target in Miami, where 42-year-old Kiara S. Johnson was accused of pulling a gun during an argument over parking proximity, according to Law&Crime. In that case, Miami-Dade Police said officers responded to the Target on Biscayne Boulevard at about 1:55 p.m., and Johnson was charged with one count of aggravated assault with a firearm, the outlet reported.
