MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A simple tap of a car horn at a green light sparked a violent attack at a gas pump, and on Friday, a jury decided that 58-year-old Scott Alan Chamness is guilty of his role in it.
After hearing the case presented by Assistant State Attorney James Moody, the jury convicted Chamness of Burglary of a Conveyance with Assault and Battery on a person 65 or older. He was taken into custody immediately and is now in jail waiting to find out the length of his sentence.
The incident happened back on August 17, 2024, in Dunnellon.
According to police, it started at a traffic light near North Williams Street. The elderly victim honked their horn because the car in front of them failed to move when the light turned green. That car belonged to Chamness. Instead of driving away, Chamness decided to follow the senior citizen into a nearby Murphy Oil gas station.
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Security cameras at the store showed exactly what happened next. As the victim parked at a pump, Chamness pulled up directly behind them. He got out of his vehicle, marched up to the victim’s window, and ripped the driver’s side door open. He grabbed the elderly driver and began screaming about the horn.
The confrontation turned violent very quickly. The victim was trapped and could not escape.
When they tried to reach for a firearm to defend themselves, Chamness climbed on top of the victim inside the car and began choking them. The attack only stopped because a passenger and a bystander at the gas station rushed over to pull Chamness off.
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Chamness ran back to his car and sped away before law enforcement could arrive. However, witnesses managed to get his license plate number. Deputies tracked him down shortly after to make the arrest, leading to Friday’s guilty verdict.
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