Armed man who attacked DC pub owner in front of 4-year-old offered plea deal to victim's dismay

Video captured how a man with a gun attacked the owner of a D.C. pub—just inches from the owner's 4-year-old boy.

Gaynor Jablonski was sitting at a table inside his Barracks Row business Valor Brewpub just after 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 29, when he heard an angry voice coming from the front of the bar.

"It confused me because it's, it's two o'clock in the afternoon. What's going on?" Jablonski said.

Video from the surveillance cameras inside the pub show Jablonski stand up to confront the man who was making the commotion. Jablonski's 4-year-old son, meanwhile, sat at the table nearby.

The man is then seen shoving Jablonski, pulling a gun from his waistband and briefly pointing it at the pub owner.

“He just kept saying, 'Sit down, white boy. I’m going to end you,'" Jablonski said.

Then, the man with the gun punched Jablonski and they began wrestling. Jablonski went for the gun with his elbow.

“I picked him up by the throat and his head after I punched where the gun was and just started, basically, carrying him away from my son," Jablonski said.

The pub's brewmaster spotted the gun when it slid away from the men and grabbed it.

At the same time, Jablonski's son climbed on top of his dad in an effort to help. He said the boy roared like a dinosaur in an effort to scare away the attacker.

“It’s by far the most frightened I have ever been in my life because I wasn’t so worried about me–it’s this guy [who] is showing he is just completely erratic,” Jablonski said. 

Video showed that after the suspect spent several minutes looking for the pistol, he simply walked out and was taken into custody by D.C. police, who had just arrived on the scene.

Gregory Gibson, of Rosharon, Texas, was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, but within days the U.S. Attorneys Office offered Gibson a plea deal that he accepted.

On Monday, he pleaded guilty to attempted assault and carrying a pistol without a license. His recommended sentence is 24 months in prison.

“I told them I did not want them to offer any plea, and I wanted to go to trial and I would do whatever they needed to make sure that they were prepared. I gave them the video. I was the witness in it,” Jablosnki said. “They told me that they have to consider their resources.”

After Gibson's plea, he was released from custody until sentencing over the objections of the prosecutor.

Jablonski said this all started because the man claimed to be an Uber Eats driver, but was not able to provide any proof of a pick-up order. An Uber spokesperson said they have no record of Gibson working for them.