Madison County man arrested for pointing gun at couple on NW 39th Avenue

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Phillip Darrell Stotler, II, 29, of Lee, Florida, was arrested yesterday for allegedly pointing a gun at a couple while driving on NW 39th Avenue in Gainesville.

At about 3 p.m. yesterday, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to a 911 call about a man pointing a handgun at a couple in a car driving westbound near the 8900 block of NW 39th Avenue.

Deputies pulled Stotler’s car over near the 381 mile marker on southbound I-75 and detained him for further investigation.

The victims told a deputy that Stotler had been driving erratically, and as he passed them, Stotler showed them his middle finger. The driver in the victims’ car said he returned the middle finger, at which point Stotler slowed down and drove alongside the victims. Stotler allegedly picked up a revolver, rolled down his passenger-side window, and pointed the gun at the victims. The victims said they slowed down and followed at a distance while contacting law enforcement.

Deputies reported that when they approached Stotler’s vehicle, they saw a rifle, rifle magazine, and ammunition in plain view. Deputies consulted with the State Attorney’s office, which reportedly agreed that these items, along with the alleged crime, gave probable cause to search the vehicle.

A search of the vehicle reportedly produced a revolver under a pillow on the driver’s side floorboard and a metal container with about 40 grams of marijuana.

Post Miranda, Stotler reportedly declined to answer questions.

Stotler has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana. He has no local criminal history, but his full criminal history is unavailable because First Appearance documents are not posted on weekends. Stotler is being held on $60,000 bail.

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. 

    • Really? Do you have 60 thousand. Besides I think you should be more worried about criminals being charged no bail after being arrested for murder, robbery, rioting, etc. etc.

      • You do know that these folks use a bail bondsman who usually charges 10-15% of the bail amount. So all the man or his family would have to come up with is 6000 dollars.

  • Running felony amount of weed, armed, and pointing guns at people. One of the duller knives in the drawer. He seemingly is wanting to never legally possess a gun again if convicted. A lot of trash coming here from Marion County lately.

    • They may be coming from there but All this Violence we are getting in North Florida has gotten worse since All the Northerners moved here running from the Violence and COVID rules they had up there

  • I totally agree. This loser was in the wrong. He’s a POS and deserves a long prison sentence. However, the victims need to share a little bit of blame when someone flips you off it’s best to ignore it going about your business what would’ve happened had to open fire on them would it been worth it?

    • I agree th e victims didnt help themselves in this case. The suspect couldn’t let a simple hand gesture go nor could t HF e victims. But anymore the simple act of honking your horn to a distracted driver or to avoid an accident can get you an aggressive response. I dont know if this guy was late for a dope deal or worse given his marked up face. The victims may gave lucked out this time.

  • Upon conviction for aggravated assault, the penalties can be severe. Florida law allows for imprisonment up to five years, fines reaching $5,000, or both. Additionally, the defendant may face a minimum mandatory sentence, especially if a firearm was involved, owing to Florida’s 10-20-Life law. This law imposes a minimum sentence of 10 years if a firearm was displayed, 20 years if the firearm was discharged, and 25 years to life if someone was injured or killed by the firearm. Convictions can also result in a permanent criminal record, loss of voting rights, and the inability to possess a firearm.

    • Yes I agree with you on 10-20-life penalty but Alachua County judicial circuit doesn’t operate that way anymore. Besides if is convicted of a felony and has to serve time in this county. Kim Barton will register him to vote anyway. We are supposed to lose some judges here anyway there are several liberal judges that go elsewhere.

  • What’s going to happen is the SAO will drop the weed charge and reduce the agg assault to simple assault. Ding dong will pay a fine, and agree to a ‘no contact with the victims’ order, and get some probationary time. The end..

  • We could just remove his middle finger.
    But on a serious note I hope weapons are permanently removed. Also if he did not purchase weapons legally he provides names of whom he purchased them from or no plea deal.

    • Stolen weapons are illegal, but if he has no prior felonies and he bought the guns from an individual, that is legal. The individual that sold the guns isn’t in trouble either, unless they know that the person buying the guns isn’t allowed to have them and is acting as a “straw man”.

  • If you have seen the way he was driving recklessly endangering all the drivers cutting people off and passing on the shoulder, when I got into the lane in front of him with plenty of room he blasts the horn at me and flips us off? I don’t think so. I returned that bird with a smile. I don’t care the situation, do not threaten my family or my own life by pointing a gun at someone. He’s not going to get what he deserves at all. It should be with an attend to kill. It was loaded. He also was driving an out of state vehicle.

  • That’s always been a dangerous intersection. I was rear ended there a few years ago.

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