WALTON COUNTY, Fla. — An Alabama man was arrested and facing charges after a road rage incident in Walton County involving a minor, a news release from the Walton County Sheriff's Office explains.
On April 21, the sheriff's office says law enforcement responded to the Boggy Bayou Store on Highway 20 in Niceville, Florida, after a call about a fight in the parking lot of the business.
Deputies reportedly learned that 40-year-old Thomas Keebler of Valley, Alabama, followed a car, with two adults and a minor inside, into the parking lot and blocked the front of them so they couldn't leave.
A few minutes before arriving at the business, deputies say Keebler had been tailgating the car and "aggressively passing" them on Highway 20.
A security camera perched outside the store caught the encounter as Keebler is seen getting out of his truck while reportedly enraged. According to the agency, the 40-year-old even lunges at the passenger and tries to hit the back seat passenger.
This road rage continues as the third passenger tried to get out of the car, but Keebler is seen on camera kicking the door multiple times so they couldn't leave.
"Keebler then shoves one of the victims, who is a [minor], to the ground," the sheriff's office explains in the release. "The driver of the car tries to intervene, but Keebler puts him in a headlock, striking him numerous times in the head."
As the fight went on, bystanders were seen walking up to Keebler who eventually got into his truck and drove away.
The sheriff's office was able to identify Keebler and got in contact with him. He had previously been ticketed multiple times this year, deputies said.
He turned himself into the Walton County Jail on Tuesday evening.
“This is an individual our deputies have encountered numerous times,” Sheriff Michael Adkinson said in a statement. “Not to mention his extensive criminal history which includes driving under the influence, assault, possession of cocaine, terroristic threats, public intoxication, and more from jurisdictions across the southeast.
"He is a danger on the road and off.”
Keebler is being charged with battery, criminal mischief and child abuse. He was issued a $5,000 bond and released on Wednesday.