DANIEL DUGAN WAS ON PROBATION WHEN HE ALLEGEDLY SENT THREAT AFTER O’BRIEN’S PUB ALTERCATION.
BY: STAFF REPORT | BocaNewsNow.com
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2022 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Boca Raton resident Daniel Dugan — on probation for burglary — allegedly was so irritated that he saw his girlfriend with another man at O’Brien’s Pub that he aggressively approached that man at the bar. The man attempted to restrain Dugan. Apparently not wanting a fight, Dugan left the bar — but then sent a text to his girlfriend that changed everything.
According to a police report obtained by BocaNewsNow.com, Dugan sent the girlfriend a video of him holding what appeared to be a machine gun. The woman called police — scared that Dugan was threatening her with violence. Boca Raton Police found Dugan in the area of 99 SE 1st Avenue in Boca Raton and documented the interaction this way:
Dugan advised that he had been at O’Brians and approached (the victim’s) table. Dugan advised that after leaving table, victim 1 had grabbed his neck and pushed him at which point Dugan did not fight back with victim 1 and decided to leave the bar. Dugan advised that victim 1 had grabbed his waistband and that he believed he was pretending to have a weapon on him although Dugan never saw a weapon. Dugan did not have any injuries or signs of foul play on his person. I then spoke with victim 1 who provided a sworn statement during which they advised that they were at O’Brian’s with (the girlfriend) and their friend when Dugan approached them in an aggressive manner. Victim 1 advised that he grabbed Dugan’s wrists to prevent him from hitting victim 1. Victim 1 advised that he could not recall if anything else physical occurred between he and Dugan during the altercation but that he was acting in self-defense out of fear that Dugan was going to become physical with him.
I then spoke with (the girlfriend) who advised a similar account of events as victim 1. She advised that Dugan approached her, victim 1, and another person while they were in O’Brian’s. She explained that Dugan’s demeanor during the incident could have been perceived as aggressive by people who are unfamiliar with him. She advised that she did not see anything physical occur between Dugan and victim 1. She additionally advised that after Dugan left the area, he messaged her a video on Instagram of him holding a black firearm.
She advised that Dugan also stated: “I’m almost home, I got that stick”. I then spoke with (the man the girlfriend was with) who advised that had shown him the picture sent to her by Dugan of him holding the AR-style firearm and that the firearm was black in color. He recognized Dugan as the subject holding the firearm in the picture. He also advised that he saw Dugan standing on the corner of 99 SE 1st Ave holding his waistband as if he had a firearm on his person. He advised that he never saw a firearm on Dugan’s person while he was on the corner. I then spoke with Dugan again and read him his constitutional warnings. Dugan advised that he had not mentioned a gun during the incident and that he does not own a gun. After talking with him further about the incident, Dugan changed his story and advised that he had made a mention of a gun at one point because he thought that victim 1 might have had one. Dugan advised that he never saw a gun on victim 1’s person. Dugan denied ever grabbing his waistband in a manner to indicate that he had a firearm. I then asked Dugan what the video contained that he sent to and he advised that it was an old video of him holding a black submachine gun-style airsoft rifle with the orange safety tip removed. Dugan showed me the video that he had sent which he had saved on his phone. I observed Dugan holding a black AR-style rifle while pointing it towards the camera. Dugan appeared to be indoors somewhere and was wearing a gray shirt. The firearm did not have an orange safety tip on it. Dugan advised that the firearm that he was holding is an airsoft rifle however, it should be noted that there were no obvious markings or indicators on the firearm that would indicate it is an airsoft rifle.
Daniel Dugan, 22, of the 800 block of SW 21st Street in Boca Raton was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on Wednesday and remains held without bond. He is charged with violating probation and “written threats to kill or do bodily injury.”
