Quick-thinking bar staff's photos help catch suspect

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One man's crazy Friday night landed him in jail, after he went to a bar, hit someone in the parking lot, and fired off shots into the building, according to arrest records.

Staffers at Mason's Live in South Lakeland say they asked Jason Smith to leave last Friday night after he was accused of groping women on the dance floor. 

"We have a zero tolerance policy so if someone is acting up and they have to leave, our staff removes them and asks them to go home," said Mason's owner, Barry Carew.

Carew says staffers walked Smith out and took pictures of him and his vehicle for security reasons, which turned out to be a really good idea. 

Smith allegedly left, then came back in his car about a half hour later. Surveillance video from Mason's shows the car circling the parking lot. Then the car lunges forward.

"It seemed like he was going after my staff, and unfortunately hit just a regular, actually a friend of ours," Carew told FOX 13.

Investigators say that's when Smith pulled out a shotgun and fired off four shots. According to a 911 call, everyone in the parking lot hit the ground.

"Then we basically crawled inside the doors," a 911 caller reported.

With the help of the staff's pictures, deputies were able to track down Smith earlier this week and arrest him.

"This could have ben a very serious situation," said Michele Cash, a spokeswoman for the Polk Sheriff's Office.

The man who was hit by Smith's car was not seriously injured, and no one was hit by bullets. On Thursday, Smith was in the Polk County Jail on $25,000 bond.