According to PWInsider, prosecutors in Orange County, Florida have moved forward with pursuing criminal charges against AEW star Cash Wheeler (real name Daniel Wheeler).
A warrant was filed back on July 28, 2023. Wheeler turned himself in on August 17. He filed a plea of not guilty to the charge of aggravated assault with a firearm through his attorney with the circuit court of Orange County, Florida.
During Wheeler’s arraignment in court on Friday, the prosecution noted that the incident was “believed to be a road rage incident. ” It was also stated that Wheeler allegedly “flashed a gun” at the other party.
Wheeler’s attorney stated that he (Wheeler) did not know the other party. Furthermore, it was said the term ‘victims” was also used during the proceedings.
Wheeler’s bond was set for $2,500.00. He was ordered by the court that within 12 hours of his release, he is to turn in any weapons that he may own, pending the resolution of the criminal case against him. Furthermore, he was also ordered to not have any contact with the alleged victims or any witnesses.
There had been no real movement on the case since the initial arraignment, but the decision was made on 2/1 to move forward with pursuing the charges. Under Florida law, a conviction for aggravated assault with a firearm could lead to up to five years’ imprisonment, five years’ probation and a $5,000 fine.
PWInsider also notes that there is a hearing scheduled to take place on February 20, which is listed as an arraignment, although Wheeler has obviously previously been arraigned.
Orange County in Florida released an incident report from Cpl. Mitchell Bowhay, dated July 27, 2023, which was sent to PWInsider. The publication chose to redact several personal addresses and license plate numbers.
“On July 27, 2023, at 0959 I, Officer M. Bowhay #19932, responded to [REDACTED] in reference to an aggravated assault with a firearm call. Upon my arrival I spoke to the victim, Daniel Matta, who provided me with a sworn written/verbal statement that said the following: Matta stated he was driving west on Interstate 4 north of Exit 83. He noticed a Jeep Gladiator weaving in and out of traffic honking its horn, so he moved over to the far-right lane to let the Jeep pass. Matta said the Jeep took the right shoulder to drive around him on the passenger side of his vehicle. Matta looked over and noticed a white male with a beard pointing a black semi-automatic handgun out of the driver’s window at him with a strong stare. Matta said he feared for his life at this time. Matta stated he slowed down to get out of the way of the firearm and ended up behind the suspect vehicle at this time.
At this time both were committed to exit 83 (Ivanhoe Blvd). Matta took pictures of the Jeep as it turned right onto College Park Drive and began to drive reckless. Matta said the Jeep beared Florida tag [REDACTED]. After taking the picture, Matta said he called 911 and gave the vehicle information to dispatch the details of what occurred. He explained he could not be late for work and asked an officer to meet him at his work [REDACTED].
I created a photo line-up using ELVIS (a databajse used by law enforcement for investigative purposes). Elvis selected five random photos based on the suspect’s Florida driver’s license picture Page 1 of 2 and put them in a randomized order with the suspect being the sixth picture. Officer Blinn #34211 met with Matta and presented him with the photo lineup instructions and the photo lineup. Matta quickly selected the correct picture, photo #2, of the suspect, later identified as, Daniel M. Wheeler, W/M D.O.B 5/17/1987 with 100% certainty. (See Officer Blinn’s supplement for more details.) Based on Mattas sworn statement and the positive photo lineup identification, probable cause exist to charge Wheeler with, aggravated assault with a firearm violation of F.S.S. 784.021(1)(A)-1.”
At the time of this writing, AEW has not commented on these new developments.