A white Florida man who was filmed yelling at a Black homeowner while waving a BB gun also faked being a Navy SEAL for years, report says
- Joseph Fucheck, 58, was arrested last month after being caught on video holding an airsoft gun while harassing a Black man in North Miami-Dade, Florida.
- He also claimed to be a Navy SEAL veteran in his tirade.
- The Miami Herald has since reported this claim to befalse.
- His daughter confirmed to the Miami Herald that Fucheck had never served in the military nad has been pretending to be a SEAL for years, calling him a "narcissist."
A white man who was caught on video holding an airsoft gun while harassing a Black man last month in Florida is not a Navy SEAL veteran, as he claimed in the tirade.
Additionally, Fucheck's daughter, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed to the newspaper that her father never served in the military and has been pretending to be a Navy SEAL for years.
"He's a narcissist," she told the Herald. "He just has to be the center of attention."
According to an arrest affidavit seen by the Herald, Fucheck was dropping off flyers in mailboxes in a North Miami-Dade neighborhood on June 14, when he got into a confrontation with Black man Dwayne Wynn.
Wynn had been chatting with a neighbor when Fucheck dropped a flyer in a nearby mailbox, and Wynn went to take it out.
That caused Fucheck to return and start yelling at Wynn, while pointing a firearm at him that was later revealed as an airsoft gun.
"Damn right, I carry a gun because I'm a 35-year former Navy SEAL!" he yelled at one point, according to the Herald. "Go look at my Purple Heart!"
During the tirade, which Wynn partially caught on camera, Fucheck also called Wynn by racial and homophobic slurs.
He also claimed to be the former head of the SWAT team in Hillsborough County, a claim that also turned out to be false.
When detectives searched Fucheck's home last month, they found Navy certificates, dress uniforms, and photos of him in military dress, according to the Miami Herald.
Navy SEAL Don Shipley, of Virginia, who helps uncover people claiming to be servicemen, said he was told about Fucheck a few years ago.
An acquaintance sent him photos of Fucheck in a Navy uniform, it was instantly clear that he was faking it, he told the Herald.
"It was all a mismatch, like he just bought it all online," he said. "He had that uniform custom made. He paid a lot of money for that dog-gone thing."
Shipley told the newspaper he tried to confront Fucheck on a trip to Florida a few years ago, but couldn't find him.
It also appears that Fucheck may have broken a state law by having a license plate designated for Purple Heart recipients.
In order to get that license plate, one has to submit military paperwork to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Fucheck remains jailed on a charge of aggravated assault with prejudice. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
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