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Inset: Gail Stephenson (Monroe County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The 1300 block of Ashby Street in Key West, Fla., where Gail Stephenson allegedly went on her phone rampage (Google Maps).
A Florida woman allegedly terrorized multiple Key West residents — “banging” on people’s homes and threatening them with a .22 Magnum revolver — because she thought she had been “robbed” of her cellphone, which turned out to be in her car the whole time.
Gail Stephenson, 57, is charged with three felonies for her Friday night rampage after cops found both the phone and gun she allegedly used to torment the residents — the items were located inside her Ford Explorer and outside her nearby home, according to an arrest report obtained by Law&Crime.
Stephenson was allegedly under the impression that a man she had given a ride to in the area was responsible for swiping her cellular device.
At least two residents reported being threatened by Stephenson, including a 52-year-old man who alleged that she pointed her revolver “at his chest,” the arrest report says. The other resident said Stephenson thought the man she gave a ride to was at her home.
An officer who searched Stephenson’s vehicle described in the arrest report how cops found both the phone and gun after Stephenson “became emphatic” that she didn’t have a firearm and had looked for the phone inside her Explorer. She went so far as to state “multiple times” that authorities could check and see for themselves.
“Stephenson opened the front driver’s side door to show me the inside of the vehicle and I immediately saw the phone that was reported to have been stolen lying on the driver’s side floor,” the cop alleges in Stephenson’s arrest report. “I opened the rear driver’s side door and immediately noticed a case for a revolver lying under the folded down third row seats.”
According to police, Stephenson was asked about the revolver case and where the weapon was. She allegedly tried saying her husband “must have it with him in Georgia” and that she didn’t possess any firearms.
Authorities searched a nearby home and allegedly located an S333 Thunderstruck .22 Magnum caliber revolver inside a “purple Crown Royal bag” that was loaded and chambered with two rounds inside of the fenced property. Stephenson allegedly “stashed” it behind a trash can, according to cops.
“A small baggy was found inside the Crown Royal bag as well containing four more .22 Magnum rounds,” the arrest report says.
Stephenson allegedly “smelled strongly” of alcohol and “admitted to having several drinks” on Friday, according to police. Authorities received several calls while talking with her that night about “a woman fitting Stephenson’s description” having a revolver and “banging on people’s home(s) and threatening those residences, stating she had been robbed,” per the arrest report.
The male resident that Stephenson allegedly threatened told police that a woman with “shoulder length blonde hair in white sports utility vehicle with a weird white license plate was blowing her vehicle’s horn repeatedly,” which prompted him to go outside.
“[The man] stated that he came out of his house with a flashlight and approached the vehicle to see if [Stephenson] needed assistance,” the arrest report says, alleging that this is when Stephenson pointed her revolver at him.
“[The man] stated that he moved closer to the car to verify that she had pointed a gun at him and stated that the woman picked up the gun quickly and exited the vehicle and took off,” the report says.
When cops spoke to the female resident who was allegedly threatened, the woman said that she “had no idea who Stephenson was and didn’t answer the door” after Stephenson began banging on it, according to the report.
Stephenson was arrested and booked in the Monroe County Jail on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed trespassing and evidence tampering. She is due in court for her arraignment on Oct. 10.