Gainesville Police arrested a former U.S. Marine Corps captain after they say he fired a shotgun and was found with an arsenal of other guns at a Southwest Gainesville apartment complex.
Police arrested Robert Anthony Brooks II, 31, on charges of aggravated assault, improper exhibit of a firearm and breach of the peace, according to a GPD arrest report.
Officers responded to Brooks’ apartment complex, Ridgemar Commons — located at 3611 SW 34th St. — after reports that a shot was fired and that a man was sitting on top of a truck in a parking lot with an assault weapon, according to the report.
When officers arrived, they saw Brooks sitting on top of a white pickup truck arguing with a woman. He then jumped off the top of the truck onto the ground, wrote GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias in an email. Before Brooks could take cover under his car, officers intervened and arrested him.
At that time, Brooks had two .45-caliber handguns in his waistband as well as a shoulder holster with extra magazines, Tobias wrote. Officers also found a .12-gauge shotgun and an AR-15 on top of the truck.
After talking to witnesses, officers gathered that Brooks had a past relationship with the woman he was originally seen arguing with, Tobias said. Witnesses said that earlier in the day, Brooks saw the woman and her daughter in a car with two other men from the neighborhood.
The carload left the complex to get yogurt, during which Brooks went into his apartment to gather his guns, Tobias said. When they came back, Brooks walked toward the car pointing the shotgun, which Brooks told police accidentally discharged.
Brooks also told police that his emotional issues stem from an “other-than-honorable” discharge from the U.S. Marine Corp — the result of a December aggravated assault arrest, Tobias said.
Officers booked Brooks into the Alachua County Jail at about 1 a.m. Saturday, where he remained Sunday night with a $150,000 bond.
A version of this story ran on page 5 on 9/23/2013 under the headline "Man shoots out of pickup truck, found with multiple guns"
