Daytona Beach, FL – Investigators are searching for a Deltona man who allegedly pulled a gun on a Muslim man and his wife in a parking lot.
32-year-old James R. Womack will be held on $100,000 bond on charges of aggravated assault with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon once he’s booked at Volusia County Jail.
The arrest warrant was signed by Volusia County Judge Dave Hood on Thursday, a week after the alleged incident at the Walmart on Beville Road in Daytona Beach.
The Daytona Beach Police Department says the victim – a 42-year-old Daytona Beach man – and his 37-year-old wife called for help around 10 PM on December 3rd.
According to the incident report, the victim told DBPD he and his wife were getting back into their vehicle in the parking lot when he spotted 3 children in a red Toyota sport utility vehicle parked nearby.
Officers say the victim thought the kids were left unattended so he went over to the vehicle to check and that’s when a black man in a white shirt – later identified as Womack – rolled down a window from the inside and told the victim “What the [expletive deleted] are you doing?”, per the report.
The victim claims Womack reached for a silver and black handgun, pointed it at him and told him to “get the [expletive deleted] out of here or I got something for you”, per the report.
The report shows the victim told police he thought Womack threatened him and his wife because of his faith, noting that his wife was wearing a hijab at the time of the incident.
DBPD believes Womack then drove the van towards another part of the parking lot and stayed there until police arrived. That’s when officers say Womack drove away going east on Beville.
Several officers followed the SUV until it entered the nearby Citgo on South Nova Road, at which point the vehicle was pulled over and Womack was initially handcuffed.
When questioned, Womack claimed the victim gave him “attitude” after he rolled down the window and then left in his own vehicle, per the report.
A search of the red Toyota SUV turned up a 2-tone 9-millimeter Smith & Wesson, according to police.
A 29-year-old woman who lives with Womack was also in the vehicle along with the 3 kids, but she refused to speak to police about what happened, per DBPD.
Womack was allowed to leave the scene after filling out a written statement and recording a video statement on a DBPD officer’s body camera.
The report notes that Walmart’s parking lot video security cameras weren’t in position to record what had happened due to where both vehicles were parked.
Womack is described as a black man who stands 5’10 and weighs around 140 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information on Womack’s whereabouts is asked to contact DBPD Detective Jayson Wallace at 386-671-5207 or email wallacej@dbpd.us.
James R. Womack (photo courtesy DBPD)
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.