Man arrested for allegedly firing gun from inside his vehicle while drunk

Larry Hobbs, The Brunswick News, Ga.
·2 min read

Jul. 26—During an event at Selden Park late Sunday night, a 35-year-old man allegedly fired a gun from inside a vehicle that he was too drunk to drive while several Glynn County police officers looked on.

Police promptly arrested that man, but a suspected shooter in another vehicle drove across ballfields to elude a law enforcement checkpoint at the park's exit at U.S. Highway 341, according to police.

No one was injured in the gunplay, which began at the rear of the park at about 11:13 p.m., police said.

Off-duty county police officers were working a security detail for the private event at the park at 100 Genoa Martin Drive when they reported hearing several gunshots, police said. The off-duty officers radioed information that a silver or gray Jeep Cherokee was suspected of being connected to the gunfire

Meanwhile, officers on duty blocked the park's exit at Genoa Martin Drive and U.S. 341 to prevent the suspects' escape.

Amid the traffic filing out of the park through the checkpoint, police allege that a man driving a silver Chevrolet Impala fired several shots into the air from a handgun. Nearby police allegedly saw the whole thing and immediately took the man into custody. Police conducted a computer check of the handgun the man allegedly fired, which had been reported stolen in Albany, police said.

Police arrested Delano Gernardo Burton and charged with theft by possession of a stolen handgun, reckless conduct, discharging a firearm in public, DUI and having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle. He was booked into the Glynn County Detention Center.

As officers were operating a checkpoint at the park's exit, police say the driver of the suspected Jeep Cherokee cut across a field and onto Ross Road. Ross Road connects with Genoa Martin Drive just before the park exit at U.S. 341. Police found the Jeep abandoned at Ross Road and U.S. 341, about a mile west of the park.

County and city police, along with campus police from the College of Coastal Georgia, established a perimeter in the area. No suspects were found, police said.

The investigation is ongoing. Police are particularly interested in any cellphone video of the shooting or of the event from anyone who was present. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Glynn County Police Department Major Crimes Unit at 912-554-7802, Silent Witness hotline at 912-264-1333, or email gcpdcrimetips@glynncounty-ga.gov.