Gainesville woman arrested for pointing gun at neighbor

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Celestia Vanessa Howard, 58, was arrested yesterday after allegedly pointing a gun at a neighbor.

At about 7:34 p.m. on January 21, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to NW 62nd Place in Pineridge, where the victim said he had been outside near the mailbox when Howard started shouting at him, saying she knew he was watching her and telling him to leave her alone. The victim said he argued with Howard, and Howard’s disabled son started walking toward them.

The victim reportedly acknowledged that he made a derogatory comment about Howard’s son, and in response, Howard’s son ran toward him and “got in his face.” The victim said Howard pulled out a handgun and pointed it at him, yelling at him to leave them alone, and he retreated. The victim reportedly recorded part of the interaction and showed an officer a video of Howard holding the gun.

Post Miranda, Howard reportedly said she and the victim had argued, and she admitted to grabbing her handgun, walking outside, and pointing it at the victim. She said she did it because she thought the victim was going to hurt her son, but she admitted that her son should not have run up to the victim the way he did.

An officer reportedly found the gun in Howard’s residence after she gave consent for the officer to collect it.

Howard has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. She has 11 misdemeanor convictions (non-violent) and was arrested for aggravated assault in 2012 after allegedly hitting a woman with a hammer and then chasing the victim while holding two-foot pieces of lumber; the charge was later dropped because the victim could not be found. She also has a conviction for improper exhibition of a firearm (1990); charges of reckless display of a firearm (1995) and aggravated assault (2000) were later dropped.

Judge Jonathan Ramsey set bail at $10,000 on the new charge.

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.