A charge of aggravated assault with a weapon was reduced to improper exhibition of a firearm for a Riverview man who pointed a handgun at a fellow motorist before crossing the Anna Maria Island Bridge on Manatee Avenue into Holmes Beach.
Darryl Ramsey, 51, was sentenced Dec. 1 to write an apology to the victim and 12 months probation for the first-degree misdemeanor.
Twelfth Judicial Circuit Judge Susan B. Malucci withheld Ramsey’s adjudication after accepting his no-contest plea to the reduced charge.
Terms of his probation include no contact with the victim, a mental health evaluation, treatment if necessary, taking a firearms safety class and no possession of firearms.
The court also ordered Ramsey could perform public service at $10 per hour toward $368 in court costs.
According to Holmes Beach and Bradenton police reports, Ramsey allegedly pointed a 9 mm Beretta at a driver of another vehicle in Bradenton at 26th Street West in February as they traveled west.
The victim called 911 and police reported finding Ramsey with a loaded, holstered firearm in the 9900 block of Manatee Avenue West.
Ramsey allegedly told police he pulled out his firearm, wished he hadn’t, but was angry after being flipped off.