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Man punched, gun drawn in dispute between drivers

HUDSON - Two men told deputies that another man punched one of them and threatened them with a gun after an encounter on the road Saturday.

Mark William Cochrane of Hudson said he was driving on Hudson Avenue about 2:20 p.m. when he may have cut off another driver unintentionally. Cochrane said he saw that driver a few minutes later, when both cars pulled into a Hicks Road liquor store. Cochrane and his passenger, Dan Gaudis, began arguing with the man, and when Cochrane walked away the man punched him in the eye.

Then the man pulled a small, black handgun out of his pocket and pointed it at Cochrane's chest, according to a sheriff's office report. The man, described as a white male about 20 years old driving a blue Nissan Altima, left after authorities were called.

No arrests have been made.

PORT RICHEY - A 42-year-old man was arrested Saturday, accused of threatening his girlfriend and her son with a knife.

John Joseph Leonetti, 9402 Walcott Lane, will face charges of aggravated domestic assault, child abuse and simple domestic battery.

According to a Pasco County Sheriff's Office report, Leonetti got into an argument with his girlfriend Saturday and pushed her to the ground. Then, with a knife in his hand, he grabbed her son around the neck. The woman and boy both sustained minor injuries.

Leonetti was released Sunday from the Pasco County jail in Land O'Lakes on his own recognizance.