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A documented gang member and convicted felon in Florida allegedly called dispatchers and threatened to shoot a state trooper who sped past him over the weekend.
James Edward Keister Jr., 43, who works as a plumber, was driving a Mr. Rooter Plumbing work truck at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday when a trooper passed him to pull over a speeder on the Howard Frankland Bridge in Pinellas County, Florida Highway Patrol said, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay.
The trooper observed a motorcyclist driving too fast and sped up to overtake the driver on the bridge, but Keister believed the trooper was also driving too fast.
He called the Florida Highway Patrol dispatch center and reported that a trooper sped past him before allegedly threatening to shoot the trooper if he saw him again.
James Edward Keister Jr. allegedly threatened to shoot a Florida Highway Patrol trooper who sped past him over the weekend. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
Keister provided his name and phone number, and asked to speak with a supervisor.
A Florida Highway Patrol sergeant contactedKeister and informed him that threatening to shoot a trooper was a criminal offense, but he allegedly toldthem he did not care and was willing to go to jail for it.
The Mr. Rooter Plumbing work truck Keister was driving had GPS monitoring and the company provided officials with his location.
A Florida Highway Patrol sergeant told James Keister Jr. that threatening to shoot a trooper was a criminal offense, but he allegedly told them he did not care. (Google Maps)
Troopers said Keister was located and arrested in Hillsborough County at the Williams Park Boat Ramp.
Keister faces two counts of threat of death or serious bodily harm of specified personnel, possession of concealed handcuff key and unlawful use of two-way communications device. He was booked into the Orient Road Jail.
He is a convicted felon and documented Latin King gang member, according to investigators.
