Man arrested for allegedly waving gun at bouncers because fight looked unfair

Staff report

Updated on May 6 with bail information.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Carlos Sebastian Rios-Jimenez, 23, was arrested early this morning after allegedly pulling over and waving a gun at two bouncers who were fighting with a patron outside a bar across the street from the UF campus.

At about 3:22 a.m. on May 2, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to the 1700 block of West University Avenue, where the victims said they were working as bouncers and were outside the bar, confronting a patron who had just caused an altercation that led to one of the bouncers being hit in the face.

Rios-Jimenez allegedly parked his car on the street and attempted to intervene in the fight by pulling out a firearm and waving it around. Both victims said they were in fear for their safety while he was waving the gun around.

Rios-Jimenez reportedly got back into his car and left.

A witness reportedly confirmed that Rios-Jimenez “came out of nowhere” and attempted to stop the fight; he said that when Rios-Jimenez was unsuccessful in stopping the fight with his words, he lifted his shirt and exposed his gun. The witness said Rios-Jimenez said “1 v. 3” was not fair as he exposed the firearm, but the witness did not remember whether Rios-Jimenez drew the firearm.

Post Miranda, Rios-Jimenez reportedly said he saw the fight and wanted to help because it “wasn’t right.” He said he tried to separate the parties, but when his attempts were unsuccessful, he pulled out his gun and told the victims to stop. He said he left after the parties separated.

Rios-Jimenez, who is a Peruvian citizen according to the arrest report, has no local criminal convictions, but he has a court hearing on May 4 for a Notice to Appear for reckless driving with property damage or personal injury and refusing to sign a citation. Judge Mitchell Bishop ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial; however, the State Attorney’s Office later filed another motion, asking a judge to set bail instead of holding him until trial, and Judge James Colaw set bail at $100,000.

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.