Man Charged For Threatening Driver With Gun At McDonald's Drive-Thru

Some people go to extreme measures when they want

charged a 55-year-old man Thursday after he threatened a driver with a gun at McDonald's, 3828 Bee Ridge Road, because he was upset about how the driver pulled into the drive-thru lane, according to a probable cause affidavit.

John Widmann III of 5120 Flicker Field Circle, Sarasota, is charged with felony aggravated assault and a misdemeanor charge of improper exhibition of a firearm, according to the affidavit.

At about 2:49 p.m. Thursday, Widmann pulled into the McDonald's in his Mercedes sedan and began yelling at another man in a brown car near the drive-thru, and according to a witness, Widmann told the other man to "get out of his car and that he would shoot him with a gun," according to the affidavit.
During the argument, Widmann had also pointed the gun at a McDonald's employee who was on break and five to six juveniles near the restaurant, the affidavit states.

The McDonald's employee told the Sheriff's Office that when the gun was pointed at her about 25 feet away, "her heart began to race and was too afraid to do anything" including fleeing, but when Widmann drove around, she raced inside to call 911, according to the affidavit.

Deputies spotted Widmann's car near Beneva Road and Gulf Gate Drive where they took him into custody without incident and found a .38 caliber revolver along with ammunition on the passenger seat, according to the affidavit.

Several of Widmann's family members confronted deputies as they brought Widmann to jail and what deputies believed to be Widmann's sons told deputies they were going to go back to the McDonald's and "there was reason to believe that these two subjects were looking for retaliation against McDonald's employees and the business itself," according to the affidavit.

Following Widmann's interview with a detective, he continued to argue on his way to booking that "he was only defending himself and that his rights were being violated because he believed that he had the right to protect himself," according to the affidavit.

Deputies and detectives did not find any evidence that Widmann was the victim in the incident or that his rights were violated, according to the affadavit.

The Sheriff's Office is also recommending review of Widmann's Florida Concealed Weapons permit because of the incident, according to the affidavit.