KEY WEST, Fla. – A convicted Key West felon now faces additional charges after authorities found a pistol and a stolen AR-15 rifle in his car over the weekend, according to police.
Those discoveries came after an officer jumped inside Abraham Amado Acosta’s vehicle in a struggle to gain control of it after the 24-year-old nearly hit an officer and his passenger, an arrest report states.
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The report states that police responded to Little Hamaca Park, located at 2701 Government Road near the Key West International Airport, at around 1:15 a.m. after receiving reports of a suspicious vehicle.
Dispatchers had warned officers that the BMW 330i was associated with a possible armed felon, police said.
Acosta pleaded no contest to carrying a concealed firearm in 2021 in a case stemming from a 2019 gun-related arrest on Stock Island.
Police said when they arrived and asked Acosta and his passenger to step out, he threw the car into reverse, nearly hitting his passenger, who had just gotten out of the vehicle, and a responding officer.
In the report, Officer Cameron Ua wrote that he jumped into the car and struggled with Acosta over the gear shift and steering wheel in an attempt to put the car into park.
He wrote that Acosta continued to try to flee but was struggling to gain traction in the dirt parking lot.
Then, as Acosta tried driving toward a police cruiser, Ua wrote that he had “no choice” but to grab the wheel and “steer the vehicle to the left into a guard rail made by used telephone poles.”
Ua wrote that when he looked down at Acosta’s feet, he saw a semi-automatic pistol on the floorboard.
Acosta then tried reaching for the gun, police said.
“Before Abraham could reach towards the floor, I grabbed his left hand with my left hand to stop him from grabbing the weapon,” Ua wrote. “I held onto both of his hands until Officer (Ivan) Golovanov was able to open the driver’s door to assist in restraining Abraham.”
The pair of officers were able to subdue Acosta and cuff him, police said.
Police said in addition to the .45 caliber pistol, they discovered an Eagle Arms AR-15 rifle, with a 30-round magazine, concealed with a beach towel.
The report states the rifle had been reported stolen in October.
Authorities arrested Acosta on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, felon in possession of a firearm, engaging in a criminal offense while armed, fleeing to elude and resisting an officer with violence.
He was being held in the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Key West jail facility on a $50,000 bond as of Monday morning.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the suspect’s age.