DALTON, GA (WRCB) -
UPDATE: David Grant put his Trump for President sign in his yard on Woodland Drive in Dalton.
“I’m behind Donald Trump! You mess with Trump, you mess with us!” said Grant.
He believes everyone should stand up for what they believe; little did he know it would lead to an armed stand-off.
On Tuesday, he says three people walked by his yard and apparently didn't like who he believed in.
One man snatched Grant's Trump for President yard sign and threw it into the steert.
Grant was outside when it happened, and had words for the trio.
“I said you got one choice. Come and fix this sign!” said Grant.
Grant says he wasn't going to let the men get away without putting his sign back, but the two adult males and teenager became aggressive.
“He said you are about to get a cap popped in your a**! Then he started patting his stomach and then showed a handgun,” said Grant.
Grant says his neighbor who lives across the street had his back the whole time.
“The neighbor was standing out here beside his driveway and sees the man pull the gun out. My neighbor looks at me dead in the eye and say: "I got you, hang on." He runs in the house and comes back out with his pistol and says: "Nobody is shooting him" said Grant.
The men fled, but not without having final words.
“Saying Spanish words. I don't know what they were saying!” said Grant.
Their actions caught up with them and Dalton police found the trio afterward on Avenue E.
They now sit behind bars with a laundry list of charges.
“The person who picked up the sign is charged with trespassing. That’s for damaging the sign. The gentleman with the gun is facing an aggravated assault charge,” said Grant.
Mauricio Rodriguez, Hector Ayala, and Alexander Moreno were all charged with violation of Georgia’s Criminal Street Gang Act.
PREVIOUS STORY: An altercation that started Tuesday 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.
Officials say three men were walking down Woodland Drive 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, when the residents of the home saw Rodriguez damage the sign. David Grant, 42, followed the three into the stree and demanded they stop and fix his sign. The three of them kept on walking and Grant continued to follow 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 who responded 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.
Alexander 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. Mauricio Rodriguez was charged with making terroristic threats, criminal trespass, and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. Hector Ayala was charged with disorderly conduct.
All three were charged with violation of Georgia’s Criminal Street Gang Act.
The investigation into this incident is continuing and further charges are possible.
