An incident that started this afternoon with the destruction of a campaign sign escalated to a man being threatened with a handgun and ended with three people arrested on multiple charges, according to a Dalton Police Department news release.
The incident started shortly after 1 p.m. in the area of Woodland Drive. Three males were walking down the street when one of them, Mauricio Rodriguez, 18, pulled up a Donald Trump for President campaign sign from the lawn of 605 West Woodland Drive and crumpled it up before throwing it into the street. Rodriguez then kept walking with Alexander Moreno, 17, and Hector Ayala, 20.
The residents of the home were sitting outside and saw Rodriguez damage the sign. David Grant, 43, followed the three into the street and demanded that they stop and fix his sign. Rodriguez, Moreno, and Ayala kept walking and Grant followed them, grabbing Rodriguez by his vest. At that point, Alexander Moreno lifted up his shirt to reveal a handgun in a holster. He pulled the gun out and pointed it at Grant, telling him to let Rodriguez go. The three then fled on foot.
Officers responding to the call were able to locate Moreno, Rodriguez and Ayala nearby in the area of Avenue E and stopped them. All three were taken into custody. Moreno was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm without a license, possession of a handgun under the age of 18, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Rodriguez was charged with making terroristic threats, criminal trespass, and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. Ayala was charged with disorderly conduct. All three were charged with violation of Georgia's Criminal Street Gang Act.