Off-duty Gainesville Police Officer Wilfredo Perez was driving with his wife when they were almost hit by a Chevrolet Impala. When they pulled up beside it, a passenger in the back seat held up a handgun and chambered it.
Early Monday morning, Jamaal Megail Owens, 29, was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and his back-seat passenger, Christopher Brandon Dortly, 25, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.
Perez and his wife were driving west on West University Avenue at 1:42 a.m. when Owens almost caused the collision. Owens then drove off erratically, said GPD spokeswoman Cpl. Angelina Valuri.
Both vehicles stopped for a red light at 22nd Street and West University Avenue.
Perez rolled down his wife’s window and asked if everything was all right, Valuri said.
The passengers in the car “immediately became hostile and were yelling,” she said.
Dortly held up a Hi-Point .38-caliber semi-automatic handgun and worked the slide, as if to load a round in the chamber, police said.
Perez said he saw Dortly point the gun at his car. Perez’s wife screamed and Owens drove off, Valuri said.
Perez followed the car and called 911.
Other officers stopped Owens on the 5200 block of Newberry Road. His blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit.
Owens told police he drank half a cup of vodka at a bar with his brother.
Dortly told police he had a gun, but he denied displaying it. The gun was found near where Dortly was sitting.
Contact Ben Brasch at bbrasch@alligator.org
