Authorities say a Florida father pointed a gun at an Uber driver’s face, forced him to the ground, and took pictures of his license after he dropped his daughter off at home.
Sean Hollonbeck, 54, was charged with kidnap/false imprisonment and aggravated assault with a weapon for the May 4 incident.
The Uber driver called Santa Rosa deputies at a Circle K gas station that night after he was allegedly held at gunpoint by Hollonbeck, according to WEAR Channel 3 News.
He told authorities that he picked up a “younger white female” in Pensacola and drove her to a home in Milton.
When he pulled up shortly before 11 p.m., he said Hollonbeck ran outside armed with a rifle and screamed at him to get out of the car, while pointing his gun and threatening to shoot.
When the driver exited the car, Hollonbeck ordered him to lie on his stomach on the road and forced the driver to take out his driver’s license.
After taking pictures of his ID, license plate, Uber account, and the address where he picked up his daughter, Hollonbeck let the driver go.
Deputies went to Hollonbeck’s house on Saturday and spoke with him and his daughter.
His daughter said her father was “acting crazy, waving his gun around, and yelling,” according to an arrest report. She reportedly went to Pensacola, located 30 minutes from Milton, before returning home. Her friends were also at her house and witnessed the incident.
Hollonbeck fessed up to his actions, telling deputies he was “afraid for his daughter’s safety and didn’t know who she was with or that she had left without permission,” according to the report.
Hollonbeck was arrested on Sunday, turned his gun over to the authorities, and was booked into the Santa Rosa County jail.
After posting bond and being released, he told his side of the story to WEAR News, standing by his actions and stating that he was uncertain about who was bringing his daughter home.
“That vehicle was completely unmarked and I had no idea,” Hollonbeck said of the Uber driver’s car. “In fact, in my mind, this was not good. And everybody knows what’s going on in this country with fentanyl and child trafficking and rape and terrible stuff.”
He shared his status as an Army veteran and said he doesn’t believe he did anything wrong. He recalled that he tried calling the Santa Rosa County and Escambia County sheriff’s offices after his daughter sneaked out, but deputies didn’t do much to help at the time.
“In this country, you’re innocent until proven guilty. If this goes to trial, I look forward to it because I want to get 12 moms and dads on that jury and judge if what I did was fair — because I called for law enforcement, and I didn’t get them,” Hollonbeck said.
While his story might have garnered sympathy from some viewers, many people online aren’t buying it.
“Child traffickers do not give their victims a ride home,” one person wrote on Yahoo.
“I spent 24 years in the Air Force. I don’t see how that would excuse my criminal behavior if I did something like that. Even to utter ‘I’m a veteran’ in such a situation is an insult to good, honest vets,” another commenter said.
“‘In this country, you’re innocent until proven guilty.’ He didn’t afford that same right to the Uber driver,” one comment read.
“Having ‘served’ is a trope that has zero value. He needs time in the Klink.”
