33-year-old Benjamin Jefferson was charged with three counts of aggravated assault after aiming a pellet gun at three men in response to an altercation regarding why one of the men was parked on the curb of Walnut Creek Rd.
On May 25th, officers were dispatched to 8154 Walnut Creek Rd in response to an aggravated assault call. Upon arrival, officers met with Daniel Mahoney along with Anthony and Earnest Buford at a house across the street. Earnest had arrived earlier in the day to Walnut Creek and had parked on the curb. According to the affidavit, as Buford was sitting in his truck and changing his shirt, a male exited the residence of 8154 Walnut Creek, questioning him on his business in the area. Buford explained that the man was swearing and continually questioning his reasoning behind being in the neighborhood. Buford responded to the question by telling the man to mind his business and to not worry about him. To which the man replied with “Wait here, I got something for you,” beginning to turn around and reenter the home. As the man entered the residence, Earnest left the area and proceeded to meet his cousin, Anthony Buford, and friend Daniel Mahoney at a location close by.
After meeting with Buford and Mahoney, Earnest returned to the Walnut Creek location in order to finish his work. As Earnest began to pull up to the home, Anthony noticed a man in the bushes with a weapon. After Anthony told his cousin about the man in the bush, Earnest began to exit the vehicle, to which the man screamed at him from the bushes. Buford examined that the man, who was still in the bushes, was pointing a rifle at the three men. The man was later identified as the same man from Buford’s previous altercation at 8154 Walnut Creek. Buford described the weapon as an assault rifle style rifle with two grips. The men proceeded to reenter the car and called law enforcement. As the police were being called, the man exited the cover of the bushes and entered the residence once again. He later returned outside, now wielding a handgun, continuing to swear and yell at the men, calling Earnest a “sucker” and a “shake ass.”
Officers were able to identify the man as Benjamin Jefferson when arriving to the scene. Jefferson gave officers a video showing him exiting and entering the house throughout the altercation. The video also recorded Buford’s vehicle, claiming that he, along with his cousin and Mahoney, should not be here. Jefferson handed over two .177 caliber pellet guns to the officers when asked. Law enforcement determined that one rifle was a Sig MPX air rifle, while the other was a Glock air rifle. Both rifles were masked in all black coloring. It was noted that these weapons were “realistic and were not able to be determined as a pellet gun until viewed close up.”
On May 26th, Detectives Carlson and Smith met with Earnest Buford in order for the victim to see a photo lineup. Buford identified Jefferson as the man in the bushes with the weapon from the day before, as well as the man who aimed a handgun at the three men.
Benjamin Jefferson was arrested and charged with three counts of aggravated assault. His bond was set at $60,000.
