Police: Man threatens neighbor with crossbow in Del Valle
DEL VALLE, Texas (FOX 7 Austin) - A Del Valle man has been arrested after Austin police say he threatened to kill a neighbor with a crossbow last week.
Bryce Elden Cooksey-Griffin, 40, was charged with second-degree felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
According to an arrest affidavit, officers responded to a gun hotshot call in the 12400 block of Campana Drive in Del Valle on August 22. The caller said his neighbor pointed a gun at him, saying "I'm going to kill you" and was attempting to run the man over. Another caller said a man was pointing a weapon at passing vehicles on the road.
Officers say the suspect, identified as Cooksey-Griffin in the affidavit, was last seen entering a home, then as officers began setting up containment, came outside. Officers cleared the home and found a crossbow, loaded with an arrow, laying on a bed in one of the bedrooms near the front of the home. Two other crossbows were found in the room.
The victim told officers he was on his way home when he saw a black man in the street yelling at a car. His description matched Cooksey-Griffin, says the affidavit. The victim slowed his car down to not hit him, but Cooksey-Griffin jumped in front of his car, causing him to slam on his brakes.
Cooksey-Griffin began to yell at the victim and the victim reversed, asking him if he was okay. He continued yelling at the victim, so he got out of his car and an argument ensued. Eventually Cooksey-Griffin went back into his yard, so the victim got back in his car and drove home, says the affidavit.
The victim told officers he walked down his driveway and looked back towards the other man's home where he saw Cooksey-Griffin had stopped another car in the street and was holding what looked like a shotgun in his hand. At that point, the victim said Cooksey-Griffin saw him and began walking towards him. The man said he saw the crossbow was loaded and that Cooksey-Griffin was making comments that he was going to kill him.
When Cooksey-Griffin lifted the crossbow to his shoulder and pointed it at the victim, the man got back in his car and drove away from the house in fear. He stopped at a neighborhood park and saw a silver sedan approaching and stopping. The victim told officers that Cooksey-Griffin then opened the driver's door, stuck the crossbow out of the car and pointed it at him, saying again he was going to kill him.
The man drove away again, and according to the victim, Cooksey-Griffin swerved his car towards him as it to hit him. The victim was able to get away and Cooksey-Griffin went back to his home.
The incident was caught on security video from a resident nearby. According to the affidavit, the video shows Cooksey-Griffin exiting his car, standing in the open driver door and raising something resembling a crossbow in a "common shooting position".