A Big Pine Key man was arrested Friday night for DUI and multiple firearms violations after the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office received reports that gunshots were fired from a van in Marathon while it was stopped at a stoplight.
There were no injuries reported. Dusty Ray Clark, 37, was charged with DUI, carrying a concealed firearm without a license, possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon, making a false police report and driving without a valid license. More charges may be filed in the case.
Clark is currently on probation following a conviction for selling narcotics.
The following were found in the van Clark was driving: a loaded 9mm Glock handgun; a loaded .22-caliber Shockwave rifle; a .22-caliber handgun hidden inside a book with the pages removed so as to specifically conceal the firearm; a .40-caliber Glock handgun case; a clear container near the driver’s seat that smelled of vodka.
The incident began when multiple deputies received an 11:20 p.m. be-on-the-lookout alert for a reckless driver leaving the Brass Monkey bar in a white, Chevrolet van with a utility rack on top. Deputies were advised that the van was headed south on U.S. 1, but added that while it was waiting to turn left onto the highway, the driver or people inside the van “popped off rounds” from a firearm.
Deputy Daniel Hill spotted the van south of that location on U.S.1 and got behind it with Sgt. Lissette Quintero providing backup. The van was driving 70 mph in a 55 mph zone and almost struck a barrier wall on the Seven Mile Bridge. Deputies stopped the van and took the driver, identified as Clark, off the bridge for safety reasons to conduct field sobriety tests as he was slurring his words, stumbling and couldn’t stand up without using a vehicle for balance. The van was towed from the bridge.
Clark failed sobriety tests and was taken to jail.
A search of the van was conducted by Sgt. Quintero in which the listed items were found while Deputy Hill was conducting the field sobriety exercises. Clark denied there were any illegal weapons in the vehicle prior to its search.
The incident remains under investigation.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
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