Tampa Homeowner Under Investigation After Pulling An AR-15 On Landscapers For Parking In Front Of His Home

The Clearwater Police Department continues to investigate an incident that occurred in the 1300 block of Boyland Avenue in Clearwater. It occurred on Thursday, July 7, 2022 at approximately 10:30 a.m.

Officers responded to the home after the homeowner, 44-year-old David Berry, armed himself with a rifle during a parking dispute.

Berry armed himself with an AR-15 style rifle during a verbal argument with Jeremy Lee, a man doing yard work across the street whose ramp to his trailer reportedly partially blocked Berry’s driveway. After the two argued, Lee and his adult daughter said Berry retrieved a rifle and pointed the gun toward Lee as Berry made conditional threats; however, the portion of the incident the daughter captured on video starts after the gun was reportedly pointed at Lee. Berry said he retrieved the rifle after what he described as a threat from Lee.

The department will be seeking review from the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s Office on possible charges of aggravated assault with a firearm.

“We are actively investigating this incident and will be presenting the case to the Office of the State Attorney,” said Police Chief Dan Slaughter. “The bottom line is a dispute over parking should never have escalated to something like this. If you have a problem with someone partially blocking the driveway, you call the police. You don’t grab a gun like some vigilante.”