Man arrested after allegedly drawing gun at stoplight

A pedestrian was charged with assault after he reportedly pointed a gun at a driver stopped at a traffic light on East Sprague Avenue and swore at deputies, asking them to shoot him.

The driver, who was stopped at a red light in the 5600 block Thursday afternoon, said he heard yelling and saw Steven Kester pointing a pistol at him, according to a police department news release. He said he honked his horn to urge the driver in front of him to pull forward, but the other driver was on his phone and didn’t notice.

The driver said he saw Kester pocket the gun in his right front pocket and walk east, pushing a shopping cart. According to the release, deputies located Kester sitting near a bank and saw a large object in the same pocket. Having drawn his weapon, a detective told him to show his hands, and Kester refused. The detective said Kester began to shout expletives, yelling for the detective to shoot him in the head and kill him.

According to the release, Kester was handcuffed by three deputies and taken to a hospital. After detectives confiscated the gun, a Ruger LCP .380, they found the magazine was loaded but no bullets were in the chamber.