By Joe Johnson
A Gwinnett County man was arrested early Sunday morning after he allegedly fired a gun in downtown Athens.
According to an Athens-Clarke County police report, officers were on patrol at the intersection of East Clayton and North Jackson streets at about 12:50 a.m. when they heard a gunshot nearby.
Officers in the area saw a man and woman leaving the doorway of Athens Bagel Company on North Jackson, with the man tucking a gun in the back of his pants waistband, according to the report.
Upon seeing the officers, the man and woman ran onto East Washington Street, with officers in pursuit and their guns drawn, according to the report.
Upon locating between parked cars, officers gave him commands to put his hands up, and he complied; when he was taken into custody a Ruger semiautomatic pistol with a round in the chamber was found in his waistband, according to the report.
Less than a half-hour earlier, a witness told an officer that a man and woman were sitting on the sidewalk near Athens Bagel Company, with both appearing to be emotional and intoxicated, according to the report; when the woman lifted the man’s shirt, she saw a gun tucked in his waistband.
At that time, according to the report, the man showed an officer his driver’s license that identified him as 23-year-old Steven Brice Strozier of Lawrenceville. Both were intoxicated with the woman seeming more coherent, and they reportedly said they were waiting for a ride.
No enforcement action was taken at the time, but after the gunshot was heard, Strozier was arrested for reckless conduct and public intoxication, according to the report. The woman who was with him, a 20-year-old Whitehead Road resident, was not charged.
Strozier was released from the county jail Monday morning upon posting security bonds totaling $1,850.