Florida man charged with 4 counts of assault after pulling gun at Port Charlotte beach

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (WINK) — A man has been arrested for threatening multiple people at Port Charlotte Beach over the weekend.

"I try to come to the beach a couple of times a week, just to come out and look at the ocean and you know do some relaxing time and read my book," said Richard Scarano, a beach regular.

A Charlotte County Sheriff's arrest report says Arnot pulled out a gun on beachgoers.

Jakob Morris, who is visiting from Ohio, said he would never think something like that would happen at Port Charlotte Beach.

“It's just surreal. It's white sand. It's pretty out here," said Morris. "There can always be bad people around, but I mean, from the looks of it, you would never think something like that would happen here."

According to an arrest report, a family was fishing at Port Charlotte Beach Complex when a man and a dog approached them. The father, out of fear of the dog, grabbed a knife but never unsheathed it.

"Everybody that I have met is really, really super nice. I've never had a problem coming out here," said Tevon Sellers, a neighbor.

The dog's owner, later identified as Arnot, pulled out a gun from a cross-body bag and started aggressively yelling at the family before walking away. Arnot then pulled the gun on two friends who were on the beach.

One of the men said they heard the gun dry fire and said Arnot pulled the trigger and the magazine of the gun fell out. Arnot then put the magazine back in, pulled the slide back, and a round fell out of the side. Arnot then ran away.

A fourth victim said Arnot approached him aggressively and threatened to shoot him. The fourth victim pointed his fishing pole at Arnot, who said that in Florida, people can shoot you for that.

"I think the mental health issue is very serious," Scarano said. "We just have to be observant and cautious, and have the mindset that we know they're out there and that you have to be knowledgeable of your surroundings."

Arnot was arrested and charged with four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without the intent to kill and one count of resisting an officer without violence. Neighbors say while they've never had an issue at Port Charlotte Beach, they'll keep their heads on a swivel in the future.

"I have a nine-month-old daughter, so I'm not willing to, you know, risk that. With that being said, I'm glad that the person who caused it is gone. I'm glad he's put away for a minute to actually figure out what he was doing," Sellers said.

Arnot was booked into Charlotte County Jail, and his bond was set at $31,000.