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Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Herman Lee Brown III, 18, has been arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a delinquent.
An Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy reported that he made contact with one of the victims while investigating a homicide that occurred on March 23, and she told the deputy that she and a male friend had been victims of an aggravated assault on March 18 at the Fast Track Exxon gas station at 1633 SW 75th Street when a man pointed a gun at them.
The deputy reviewed surveillance footage from the gas station and reported that a black BMW pulled up to a gas pump at 7:21 p.m. At 7:25 p.m., a passenger got out of the BMW and went into the store. At about the same time, the victims’ car pulled up to the same island, with the driver-side doors of both cars directly across from each other.
The deputy reported that the male victim went into the store but did not appear to be aware of the BMW or its driver; at the same time, the passenger from the BMW, who was inside the store, could be seen on video noticing the male victim, pulling up his jacket hood, and moving to the opposite side of the store.
While the male victim was inside the store, the driver of the BMW, later identified as Brown, opened the driver’s side door and stood up, then sat back down with the door open.
At about 7:27 p.m., the male victim walked back to his vehicle; the video showed a brief verbal exchange between the male victim and Brown, then the male victim got back into his car and drove off. The passenger got back into the BMW, then the BMW followed the victims but returned to the same gas pump about a minute later. The deputy did not report seeing the gun, but the victims reported that they fled because the driver pointed a gun at them following the brief verbal exchange.
During a special operations detail on March 21, before this incident was reported, deputies gathered intelligence that Brown was driving a BMW and had a gun. The BMW was located in the 400 block of NW 75th Street, but as soon as officers saw the vehicle, a passenger got out and fled the area. The passenger was located and reportedly had a handgun. A traffic stop was conducted on the BMW, and Brown was identified as the driver.
Brown has 13 juvenile convictions, 12 of which would be felonies if committed by an adult; four of them involved firearms. Brown is being held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail to protect the community until the case is resolved.
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.Â
