Florida Keys Man Allegedly Shot Flare Gun At 3 People In Boat Key Harbor

A Florida Keys man is facing charges after he allegedly shot a flare gun at three people on a boat in Boat Key Harbor, according to Local 10. A woman told Monroe County deputies that the incident happened around 3:30 a.m. on August 27. Her 17-year-old son told detectives he was tarpon fishing with a 15-year-old boy and 27-year-old man that day. When they returned to Boot Key Harbor, the group found the mother's liveaboard sailboat missing.

They later found the boat adrift near Boot Key Bridge, its anchor lines cut with a knife. The trio were securing the boat when Joseph Thomas Gaston, 29, and another woman arrived in a separate boat, according to investigators. The 17-year-old son thought Gaston and the female cut the anchor lines, which lead to an argument. Then, Gaston allegedly fired a flare gun at him and the two others.

"The boy told deputies said he used a sail to block the flare," Local 10 reported, adding that no one was seriously hurt. Investigators said a witness statement and testimonies from the other two people lead to Gaston's arrest. Gaston was taken into custody Thursday (October 15) and charged with three counts of aggravated assault.

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