Boone Police Nab Fugitive After A Swim In The New River

A Georgia man is facing multiple charges after he allegedly struck a person with a handgun at a Boone bar Sunday evening. 

Around 9:50 p.m., Boone Police officers and Watauga County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a reported assault with a weapon at Lily’s Snack Bar, located at 455 Blowing Rock Road. The victim reported that an individual struck them in the forehead with the handle of a handgun. The reporting person stated that the individual fled the area in a silver sports car, according to a Boone Police press release.

Officers were checking the area when a Watauga County Sheriff’s Deputy located a silver 2023 Ferrari Roma in the parking lot of Circle K, located at 2200 Hwy 421, in Boone. After entering Circle K, the deputy located the driver of the Ferrari, Harrison O. Gilbert Jr., 29, of Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Gilbert Jr., who was armed, fled from the deputy on foot and jumped into the New River to evade arrest. Gilbert Jr. exited the water a brief time later, and he was placed under arrest after a brief struggle, according to Boone Police.
Gilbert was transported to the Watauga Medical Center for evaluation due to hypothermia before being medically cleared.

Gilbert has warrants for arrest from Georgia and New Jersey.

He was charged with the following crimes connected to Sunday’s incidents:
Assault with a deadly weapon
Assault on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon
Two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon
Possession of methamphetamine
Possession of marijuana
Possession of drug paraphernalia
Carrying a concealed weapon
Carrying a concealed weapon in an alcohol beverage establishment
Resist, obstruct, and delay a law enforcement officer

Gilbert was placed in the custody of the Watauga County Detention Center under a $402,500 secured bond.

The Watauga Democrat contributed to this story