Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jose Alfredo Zabala, Jr., 43, was arrested yesterday after allegedly displaying a gun during a traffic dispute on NE Waldo Road.

At about 6:26 p.m. on May 11, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a call about a firearm being displayed in the 5200 block of NE Waldo Road.

The victim said he had been sitting in the passenger seat of a car that made a U-turn on Waldo Road and that a man in a blue Kia had cut them off and brake-checked them. Both cars reportedly stopped in the roadway, and the victim and the suspect started arguing. The victim said he stayed inside his vehicle, but the suspect briefly got out, then got back in, pulled out a black firearm, and held it upright before driving away; the victim said the suspect did not point the gun directly at him.

The victim provided a description of the car and a tag number; while driving to the scene of the incident, a deputy saw the car at the intersection of NE Waldo Road and NE 39th Avenue and followed it to the parking lot of the Walmart on NE 12th Avenue.

Click here for video of the apprehension of Zabala in the Walmart parking lot.

A black firearm with a full magazine but no round in the chamber was reportedly recovered from Zabala’s car.

Zabala, whose address is listed as Palm Coast and who has only been in Alachua County for one day, has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He has no criminal convictions. Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.