An Alabama man who is a “danger on the road and off” was arrested last week for a road rage attack on a 16-year-old girl and her boyfriend at a north Florida gas station that was caught on video, according to authorities.
Thomas Keebler, 40, allegedly drove a group of teenagers to the Boggy Bayou Store on Highway 20 in Niceville and assaulted them.
“This is an individual our deputies have encountered numerous times,” said Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson Jr. “Not to mention his extensive criminal history, which includes driving under the influence, assault, possession of cocaine, terroristic threats, public intoxication, and more from jurisdictions across the Southeast. He is a danger on the road and off.”
On April 21, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a fight at a gas station and found that Keebler had tailgated the teenager and her friends in a red car, aggressively passed them, then tapped his brakes before following them to the service station.
He parked in front of their car to prevent them from leaving, then stormed out of his Chevrolet Silverado truck, yelling expletives and lunging at them, according to video.
He is accused of trying to hit a passenger in the back seat through an open window. According to an arrest report, another passenger is seen trying to get out of the car, but Keebler repeatedly kicks the door closed on his leg.
The 16-year-old girl can be seen getting out of the car, and Keebler “suddenly and with great force” throws her to the ground, the report says.
When the car’s driver tries to intervene, Keebler puts him in a headlock and repeatedly punches him in the head.
A kind stranger chased Keebler away, but deputies recognized him from surveillance footage. Keebler turned himself in after authorities contacted him on April 25.
Keebler allegedly admitted he lost his temper and asked multiple times, “Am I going to jail? It’s OK if I am, I just want to be prepared,” the document says.
Deputies asked Keebler if he was aware of the age of the victims.
“I need an attorney, don’t I?” he allegedly replied.
He is accused of child abuse without great bodily harm, battery, touching or striking another person, and criminal mischief.
According to records, he was released from the Walton County Jail on April 26 after posting a $5,000 bond.
