WALTON COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida man who is a teacher at a Panhandle charter school is accused of pulling a gun on a teenager after an incident that deputies have described as road rage.
Brandon Greggory Crumbley, 36, of Freeport, was arrested on Thursday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, improper display of a firearm and obstruction without violence, according to Walton County Sheriff’s Office online booking records.
According to a news release from the sheriff’s office, Crumbley, who teaches at Okaloosa Academy in Fort Walton Beach, “brake-checked” a vehicle driven by a 16-year-old.
Brandon Crumbley is a ESE teacher and bus driver at Okaloosa Academy, according to the school's website. He was released from jail on a $10,000 bond.
— WEAR ABC 3 (@weartv) September 1, 2023
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Brake-checking is a tactic in which a motorist aggressively brakes in retaliation for a vehicle behind them, usually occurring when the driver believes they are being tailgated, AL.com reported.
“A short time later, Crumbley was parking his vehicle at his apartment complex when the victim drove by rolling down his window and words were exchanged,” the sheriff’s office said. “As the driver passed by, he told deputies Crumbley lifted his shirt revealing a firearm.”
Video surveillance from the incident allegedly shows Crumbley holding a gun over his head, waving it and then pointing it at the teen’s vehicle, WEAR-TV reported.
When Crumbley was questioned during the investigation, he told deputies that he never removed the weapon from his holster or threatened the teen, according to the television station.
“After deputies reviewed surveillance video, it was found Crumbley not only lied but appeared to taunt the victim with the weapon,” the sheriff’s office stated in its release. “As the vehicle was seen leaving the area, Crumbley is seen holding the gun over his head pointing it at the victim’s vehicle and then towards the sky as if to wave him back towards him.”
Crumbley was arrested at his home in Walton County on Thursday by the U.S. Marshals Task Force, AL.com reported.
He was released on Friday after posting $10,000 bail, online records show.
