Jacksonville car dealer employees hide in locked room after man's threats

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A man police have described as mentally ill is accused of walking into Keith Pierson Toyota on Thursday and threatening to shoot employees there.

A salesman said that man also told him he wanted to make sure all gay people were gone from the Earth.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said the man is getting a mental evaluation.

“That’s hurtful to hear that, very hurtful,” said Keith Pierson Toyota, co-owner Claudy Pierson.

An employee at the front desk said she thought it was strange when the man walked in and told her he was Satan, Jesus and God.

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“They walked him over here to one of our desks and he sits over there with one of our sales associates and one of the managers. He told the manager that he has a gun,” Pierson said.

A salesman said the man also threatened to shoot him if he didn’t give him a car.

JSO said the man who walked into the showroom did not have a gun when officers found him, but the employees being threatened did not know that at the time.

“We’re back to business. Everything is fine. We’re all fine. And thank God the guy didn’t have a gun,” Pierson said.

Pierson and several employees at the dealership said it took JSO at least half an hour and multiple 911 calls before they arrived.

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“I called police three times and the receptionist called too, and I think one our other associates, they called. So we probably called five times. But it took 30-35 minutes for them to get here,” said Pierson.

She said she hid in a locked room in the back with the employees while they waited for police to come.

“It was frustrating because if it was something real or something was happening for 30-35 minutes, it’s too long,” said Pierson.

JSO confirmed it took them 29 minutes to get there after the first 911 call.

Spokesperson Officer Melissa Bujeda said it's one of their busiest zones and the man was not displaying a gun.

JSO said the man they apprehended is getting a mental evaluation under the Baker Act for the fourth time.

His Baker Act report said that when officers found him, he told them, "Go ahead and take me, I'm Jesus Christ and God will bail me out."

Cox Media Group