Clearwater man wielded assault rifle during parking dispute, police say

CLEARWATER ― A man held an assault rifle and threatened to shoot someone over a parking dispute in July, the Clearwater Police Department said Friday.

David H. Berry, 44, was arrested and booked into the Pinellas County Jail Friday night and released from jail after posting a $5,000 bond to cover bail less than five hours later, records show. He is facing a charge of aggravated assault, which is a third-degree felony.

According to a witness affidavit, the unnamed man was in the area of 1311 Boylan Avenue in Clearwater working on a lawn on July 7 when Berry came outside of his home and began yelling at the man for blocking Berry’s driveway with an equipment trailer.

Berry then went to his truck, got an assault rifle and pointed it at the man in a “threatening manner,” the affidavit said.

Police also spoke with the man’s daughter, who saw the incident. She told police that Berry pointed the gun at her father and twice threatened to shoot him.

The man’s daughter recorded a video of the incident, according to the affidavit.

In late July, Berry’s weapons were seized by the Clearwater Police Department and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office through a risk protection order, police said in a Friday media release. Sometimes called a “red-flag order,” risk protection orders allow a judge to order a person’s weapons to be seized.

“If the suspect had a problem with how someone was parking, he should have called the police and let us handle it,” Clearwater Police Chief Dan Slaughter said in the media release. “You don’t arm yourself with an assault rifle and threaten someone over something so trivial.”