DOCUMENT: Stupid, Crime

Man Pulls Gun After "Denim Chicken" Crack

A bust to delight "It's Always Sunny" fans

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Denim Chicken Assault

MARCH 13--In a late-night confrontation outside a Kwik Stop convenience store, a Florida Man pointed a 9mm pistol at three men after one of them called the alleged gunman a “denim chicken,” a reference that would only make sense to fans of the TV show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

According to police, Coby Arnhart, 50, approached the auto after Liam Neff, 22, called him a “denim chicken.” Arnhart allegedly reached into the vehicle and punched Neff in the face, and then slammed the passenger door on him.

After Neff was walloped, his brother Connor, 20, and another man exited the car and got into a “minor physical altercation” with the 6’ 3”, 255-pound Arnhart (seen at right). During the scuffle Tuesday night, cops charge, Arnhart pulled out a Smith & Wesson 9mm and pointed it at the Neff brothers and the third victim.

“The defendant did not attempt to retreat prior to drawing his firearm,” an arrest affidavit charges.

After leveling the gun at the trio, Arnhart got in his car and drove away from the convenience store, which is less than a mile from his home in Safety Harbor, a Tampa suburb. The Neffs live one block from Arnhart.

The 10:15 PM confrontation was witnessed by multiple individuals and recorded by a Kwik Stop surveillance camera, cops say.

During police questioning at his home, Arnhart “spontaneously stated he pointed his handgun” at the victims in self-defense, and claimed that he was punched first by one of the men.  

Arnhart was charged with three counts of aggravated assault for allegedly pointing his pistol at the Neff brothers and the third man. Since he was “not given permission to enter the vehicle,” Arnhart was also charged with burglary with assault or battery for reaching into the car and striking the younger Neff.

Arnhart, who was booked into the Pinellas County jail on the four felonies, was freed early Wednesday morning after posting $165,000 bond.

Now, as for the “denim chicken.”

In "Charlie Kelly: King of the Rats," a 2010 episode of FX's “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” the character Charlie (played by Charlie Day) is treated to a birthday celebration by his degenerate friends at the gang’s hangout, Paddy’s Pub.

The gifts presented to Charlie were sculptural re-creations of items he had sketched out in his “dream book.” Along with a bird with teeth and an assortment of worm hats, Charlie was presented with a roasted chicken stuffed into a tiny pair of jeans, the “denim chicken” of his dreams.

Court filings do not indicate whether Arnhart was aware of the provenance of the “denim chicken” remark directed at him outside the Kwik Stop. (1 page)