KISSIMMEE — Every summer, Osceola County welcomes as many tourists from other states as possible to see the local attractions. County leaders also hope these visitors obey the local laws.
Not all of them are willing to do that, deputies say.
Last week, a 21-year-old man from New York landed in the Osceola County Jail after deputies say he pointed a gun at a 13-year-old boy.
Osceola County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Joshua Renal Muniz of 622 Maple St. in West Hemstead, N.Y., and charged him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a felony.
Deputies say a hot temper may have started it all.
Around 9:15 p.m. on June 7, the sheriff’s office got a call from a teenage boy about an alleged road rage incident. Deputies responded to Roadster Lane in Kissimmee, where the 13-year old boy told them he had been walking home from the Old Town theme park when a car zoomed past him at a high rate of speed.
The boy decided to shout out at the driver, noted Twis Lizasuain, public information officer for the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
“The victim yelled at the driver to slow down,” Lizasuain noted in her report on the arrest, adding that the boy’s words appear to have gotten the motorist’s attention, since he quickly stopped and pulled over.
“The driver exited his vehicle and approached the victim with a handgun,” Lizasuain noted. “He pointed the gun toward the victim’s face and asked him if he wanted to be punched.”
The boy did not respond, and the motorist, later identified as Muniz, drove away. But that was not before a number of witnesses watched him point the gun at the boy, Lizasuain said.
“Witnesses who saw the incident confirmed the victim’s statement,” she said.
Deputies patrolling the U.S. 192 tourist area were able to locate Muniz’s car based on a description provided by the witnesses.
The 13-year-old “positively identified him as the driver,” Lizasuain said.
Deputies also found Muniz’s handgun.
“Based on the information, Muniz was arrested and booked into the Osceola County Jail,” Lizasuain said.
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