Brian Hamacher

Federal Corrections Officer Accused of Pointing Gun at Pembroke Pines Family

A federal corrections officer accused of pointing a gun at a family in Pembroke Pines on Thanksgiving is speaking out, along with his alleged victims.

Jason Verga was arrested and charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the incident.

One of the alleged victims, who only wanted to be identified by his first name, German, said he had taken his 10-year-old son for a spin around their Pembroke Pines neighborhood on Thanksgiving Day in one of his cars. He says the ride was cut short when a neighbor, Verga, started yelling at him to slow down.

"I don't even go fast, I'm sorry, my car is loud," German told NBC 6 Wednesday.

Police said they argued, and German said Verga threatened him.

"I exactly remember what he said: ‘If I see you around here, I will shoot you,'" German said.

German later told his wife, Stephanie, about what happened and she decided to go smooth things over. German said he and his son followed to take pictures of Verga's address.

"He called my wife every single name in the book," German said.

That started another argument between the men.

"The guy was yelling to him 'you don't know who the F you're messing with,'" Stephanie said.

Stephanie said Verga then pulled a gun and pointed it at her, her husband and 10-year-old son. According to a police report, he asked the parents if "they wanna die today."

"I had my son next to me, shaking," German said.

Stephanie said her family never stepped foot on Verga's property.

"I literally thought one of us, for sure was going to get shot," Stephanie said.

Police arrested Verga, who initially denied pointing a gun at the family but later admitted to it, according to the police report that said police found the gun at his father's house.

NBC 6 spoke with Verga by phone, where he identified himself as a federal corrections officer and firearms instructor. He denied the allegations and she he was the one who was threatened.

"I worry about running into him at the grocery store," Stephanie said.

Stephanie said she and her son still have anxiety from that day and said she feels Verga's actions are inexcusable, especially for a federal corrections officer.

"In that moment you feel like, ‘my son [is] going to die, him and I going to die today," German said.

According to the arrest report, Verga initially told police he was not in fear of his life, a statement he later changed. Verga told NBC 6 he would never point a gun at a kid, that he never left his property and that he should've called the police first.

Contact Us