A Leesburg man was arrested after allegedly firing a rifle in the direction of his neighbors, narrowly missing one of their heads.
A married couple, neighbors of 74-year-old Clifford Barbarick Tomassian, were outside near the canal in the backyard of their residence on South Putney Court in Leesburg on Thursday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
The wife was kneeling near the canal while her husband stood in a boat just beside her. She was looking down when she heard a bullet zoom past her head, very close to her. Her husband heard it, too, and turned in the direction of where they heard the bullet behind them. They then saw Tomassian sitting on his back porch with a long rifle in his hand, the report said.
The couple was familiar with the sounds of bullets due to being active hunters. They suspected it was a small caliber, possibly a .22. The wife thought she heard the bullet hit the boat, as she heard a “ping” sound immediately after. She and her husband made their way inside their home and called the police, fearing the bullet was meant for them, the report said.
A deputy located the phone number for Tomassian’s son, who lives with him, and peacefully retrieved him from the property. While searching his person, the deputy found four rounds of .22 caliber ammunition in the breast pocket of his shirt. He was subsequently put in the back of a patrol vehicle, the report said.
Tomassian advised that he had been arrested for gun charges before. He could not recall a timeframe, but at some point, he dropped off his .22 caliber rifle at a nearby gun shop to have a scope added to it. Due to the cost, this was not completed, and he brought the gun home, the report said.
He had the gun for about a month before he took it outside on the back porch. He sat down in a chair holding the rifle, as the couple stated. He could not answer why the rounds were in his pocket, only saying the gun had not been loaded that day. He denied firing the rifle at any point, the report said.
The rifle was ultimately retrieved from the residence and determined to be an O.F. Mossberg and Sons single-bolt-action rifle. Law enforcement found no serial number on the gun, the report said.
Additionally, Tomassian was currently out on bond for firing a gun during a dispute with a neighbor earlier this year. A check of his information came back with a NICS Denied Transaction File dated April 28. This stated that he was denied by the NICS from the possession of a firearm or the issuance of a firearm or explosives permit, the report said.
Tomassian was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, discharging a firearm in a residential area and improper exhibition of a firearm. The Massachusetts native was booked at the Lake County Jail, where he is being held without bond.