Lake Wales High Football Coach Accused Of Pointing Gun At Driver

WINTER HAVEN, FL — A Lake Wales High School football coach was arrested after being accused of pointing a gun at another driver Sunday during a road rage incident, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies arrested 33-year-old Don Wayne Wise Jr. of Winter Haven and charged him with three counts of felony aggravated assault with a firearm and one count of resisting arrest.

At around 3:30 p.m., detectives responded to the area of Cypress Gardens Blvd. and Overlook Drive after the road rage incident was reported.

The victims said they were heading east on Cypress Gardens Boulevard in the area of Overlook Drive when a blue Nissan Rogue merged into their lane twice, nearly cutting their vehicle off.

Deputies said the passenger side window of the victims' vehicle was down and the passenger shouted to Wise, "You pulled into my lane twice."

The driver and passenger said the driver then pointed a semi-automatic handgun at them for about 30 seconds.

The victims gave deputies the tag number of the Nissan, and deputies discovered it was registered to Wise.

When a deputy went to his home on Maclandon Court in Winter Haven, he said Wise was visibly upset but denied being in a road rage confrontation or pointing a gun at anyone, although he did admit to being on Cypress Gardens Boulevard "at some point" during the day and said he does carry a gun.

At that point, the deputy said Wise crossed his arms over his chest and lifted his shirt up, showing the gun in a holster in his waistband. The deputy said Wise refused to answer any more questions, so the deputy left.

The victims in the road rage confrontation were eventually shown a photo lineup that included a photo of Wise and picked Wise out of the lineup, giving the deputy probable cause to arrest Wise.

Upon his arrest, deputies said Wise repeatedly refused their commands to sit inside the patrol car, and physically resisted their efforts to place him inside, resulting in an additional charge of resisting arrest.

Wise was taken to the Polk County Jail where he was later released after paying a $15,500 bond.

“Coaches are supposed to be mentors and models for appropriate conduct," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. "Losing your cool while driving and then brandishing a firearm is the complete opposite. I’m proud of my detectives for their quick work to apprehend the man responsible.”