Man Arrested After Pointing Gun at Telecommunications Workers

NEWBERRY – A Newberry man was arrested after reportedly pointing a handgun at three telecommunications workers who were servicing utility poles along Southwest 298^th Street.

According to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded around 5:22 p.m. on Oct. 14, 2025, to a report of an armed disturbance near 2925 S.W. 298^th Street. The victims told deputies they were working for a telecommunications contractor when a man and woman in a vehicle stopped and accused them of being drug dealers.

Deputies identified the suspect as 48-year-old Phillip Demetrius Joseph, who lives near the area where the confrontation occurred.

The workers said they tried to move to poles across the street to avoid conflict, but Joseph allegedly continued yelling, accusing them of illegal activity. The victims told deputies that Joseph removed a handgun from a holster at his waist and aimed it at each of them one by one. Two of the men reported that the weapon was pointed directly at their faces from less than 10 feet away, and all three said they feared being shot.

Deputies said they located the loaded firearm on Joseph’s person and found a second loaded magazine on the ground near where the confrontation took place.

After being read his Miranda rights, Joseph reportedly admitted to confronting the workers and demanding identification. He said he followed them across the road and drew his weapon after believing one of the workers had “crossed beyond where he needed to be working.” Joseph told deputies he aimed the firearm toward the ground but acknowledged that he “could potentially have pointed the gun” at the men while waving it around.

Joseph was charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a felony offense. Deputies said he does not have a prior criminal history.

He was booked into the Alachua County Jail, where Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion by the State Attorney’s Office to continue his detention until trial. If that motion is denied, bail will be set at the hearing.

The investigation remains ongoing.

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