By Joe Johnson
An elderly Madison County man on Wednesday reportedly threatened the life of an Athens-Clarke police officer after he was arrested for DUI.
According to a police incident report, an Athens man called 911 at 4:39 p.m. to report that an erratically traveling BMW had been tailgating him from Madison and on roads in Athens.
“He stated that the driver had ran off the road multiple times and was aggressively tailgating him,” according to the report. “He stated that he attempted to let the suspect pass him, but the vehicle just slowed and continued behind him”
When the motorist saw a patrol car that was waiting in a parking area on Voyles Road, he pulled in and the BMW followed, nearly striking the police car, according to the report.
The motorist, identified by police as 73-year-old Larry Jackson Floyd of Fowler Freeman Lane in Danielsville, had slurred speech, with a cold, open can of beer in his car's cupholder and a large opened bottle of whiskey and an empty beer can on the passenger floorboard, according to the police report.
Floyd was arrested for DUI after he failed roadside sobriety tests, the report noted.
On the ride to the county jail, Floyd reportedly told the officer that “he knows my face and that he was going to find me when I (sic) got out,” and "“He continued to make subtle threats without actual (sic) making a threat to harm me."
Upon arriving at the jail and while waiting for staff, Floyd said to the officer, “It’s hard knowing you’re not gonna leave another year, isn’t it?” the report noted. “I explained to him that I still had a lot of life left in me and he said, ‘Not When I get out.’”
After the officer warned the man to keep quiet or else he would wind up facing an additional charge, Floyd allegedly told the officer that “he was going to shoot me right between the eyes,” according to the report. “He even repeated it when I told him I did not hear him correctly.”
It was at this point the officer charged Floyd with felony terroristic threats, along with other DUI-related charges, including failure to maintain lane and two counts of possession of an open container of alcohol in a vehicle, according to the report.
As of Thursday afternoon, Floyd was being held in lieu of good security bonds totaling $2,500, according to the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office.