Gainesville man arrested for pointing a gun at two men after car crash

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Oscar Danilo Baltodanogarcia, 30, was arrested yesterday for allegedly pointing a gun at two men following a car crash.

The car crash reportedly happened around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, but a Gainesville Police Department officer spoke with the victims later in the evening when he responded to a call about shots fired at Bella Vista Village (110 NW 39th Avenue). The victims, one of whom is a neighbor of Baltodanogarcia, reportedly told the officer that the same man who had fired the shots had pointed a gun at them a few hours earlier during an argument over a car crash. Both victims reported that Baltodanogarcia pointed a gun at their stomachs.

The victims reportedly told the officer that Baltodanogarcia had come home in his pickup truck at about 10:50 p.m., and then he parked the truck, got out, and fired about five rounds while pointing his handgun at the sky; he then walked into his apartment and closed the door.

Officers set up a perimeter around Baltodanogarcia’s apartment and made announcements instructing the occupants to come out; Baltodanogarcia eventually came out.

One of the victims reportedly positively identified Baltodanogarcia as the man who pointed a gun at him, but the other one said he didn’t believe Baltodanogarcia was the man who pointed a gun at him. However, he also said the man who pointed the gun was the owner of the pickup truck parked in front of Baltodanogarcia’s apartment; Baltodanogarcia is the registered owner of the truck.

Post Miranda, Baltodanogarcia reportedly said he had gotten into an argument with the victims earlier but never pointed a gun at them. He also said he didn’t hear any gunshots near his apartment and did not hear the officers’ announcements outside his apartment.

Baltodanogarcia’s wife reportedly told an officer that she heard gunshots but did not see who fired them, and she heard the announcements, but they did not come out at first because she didn’t feel they’d done anything wrong.

Another neighbor reportedly told an officer that he heard gunshots, looked outside, and saw a man matching Baltodanogarcia’s description walking into Baltodanogarcia’s apartment.

Baltodanogarcia has one misdemeanor conviction for driving without a valid license, and he entered into a pretrial diversion agreement on July 12 on a petit theft charge. Judge Meshon Rawls ordered him held without bond pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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