OKEECHOBEE — On Thursday, Oct. 26, Aaron Gurrustieta, 31, of Okeechobee, was charged with three counts of aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony after he allegedly threatened three victims at gunpoint.

According to the arrest report, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, a deputy was advised to contact a man about an incident that had taken place on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at around 7:45 p.m. The man stated that he and two other people work for a solar company out of Port Saint Lucie and that they were in Okeechobee on a job when they were held at gunpoint by an unknown male.

The victim who called in the report stated that he was inside a residence on Northwest Fifth Avenue and walked outside to find his two coworkers arguing with an unknown man. His coworkers had been at a home in Basswood and had just arrived to meet him at his location. The two other victims were still inside of their vehicle and the unknown male was also inside of his vehicle and had what the victim described as a "machine gun with a green laser" pointed at his coworkers. The victim reports that the suspect threatened to kill his coworkers several times. One of the victims told the suspect that he did not want a fight but the suspect only demanded the victim’s wallets.

Another vehicle arrived at the scene and was able to calm the suspect down and the two of them left.

Deputies interviewed the victims separately and all were able to corroborate the story. None of the victims knew the identity of the suspect but described him as a Hispanic man of about 260 pounds, about 5’11” tall and had a white tattoo on his forearm that was the Backwood cigar logo.

Because of the physical description and tattoo OCSO was able to identify the suspect as Aaron Gurrustieta and sent deputies to his residence in Basswood to question him. When deputies questioned Gurrustieta regarding the incident he admitted that he had seen an unknown vehicle on his cameras near his residence and thought it looked “sketch.” Gurrustieta reported that his home had been shot at before and that he was concerned. He showed the deputy multiple bullet holes in his wall.

Gurrustieta told deputies that he approached the vehicle and spoke with the individuals inside to find out why they were there and they told him they worked for a company and sold things. He said that when he asked to see identification they showed him a badge and asked him for his driver’s license. Gurrustieta admitted that when the vehicle finally left, he followed them to a residence on Northwest Fifth Avenue. He made no mention of threatening anyone with a gun and reportedly seemed shocked when the deputy explained the report to him.

When asked if he owned weapons Gurrustieta explained that he owned several and they were kept in a safe when he was home and he took them with him when he left but that none were illegal. He admitted that he did own red and green laser attachments. When deputies asked to see the weapons Gurrustieta said that he would not let them inside but that he would bring the weapons to them and show them. Deputies declined for safety reasons.

On Thursday, Oct. 26, a search warrant was obtained to search the home of Gurrustieta. During the search, multiple firearms and ammunition were found and all serial numbers were ran to be sure they were not stolen. Additionally, while searching a bedroom, deputies found cut plastic bags, a spoon with white powder, and white powder residue in a bathroom sink. The spoon was field tested and tested positive for cocaine. In the kitchen, a scale was found with a dollar bill containing white powder in it that was tested and it also tested positive for cocaine. The cocaine collected weighed less than a gram.

The guns were taken to the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office for safe keeping because no family member was contacted for the firearms.

Aaron Gurrustieta was placed under arrest and charged with three counts of aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony, robbery with a firearm, and possession of cocaine. He was also charged with a misdemeanor of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Bond was set at $136,000.