Texas man arrested for menacing diners with gun — after holding pistol to cat's head during court hearing

A man from a suburban community near Waco, Texas is in jail and faces a psychological evaluation after pointing a gun at patrons of a popular local restaurant where he used to work, reported KWTX on Wednesday.

"Bryan Bruce, 41, who has a history of mental health issues, is scheduled for a psychological evaluation Wednesday morning after his arrest Tuesday on a Class A misdemeanor deadly conduct charge," reported Tommy Witherspoon. "[The] arrest document allege[s] Bruce sat down on a lobby bench at George’s Restaurant and Bar No. 2, 1201 Hewitt Drive, on Jan. 31, pulled a pistol and pointed it at several customers."

According to the arrest affidavit, one of the managers of the restaurant recognized George as a former employee and was able to "calm down Bryan Bruce and prevent any further violence from occurring." He was arrested and jailed on Tuesday.

All of this comes as Bruce is already facing trial for arson after he set fire to a grassy area "that spread to a detached garage on his family's property," and after a bizarre incident that occurred during a virtual courtroom hearing ahead of that court date, in which Bruce held a pistol to a cat's head in front of the judge.

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District Judge Thomas West "asked Bruce why he was holding a 9mm pistol to the cat’s head," according to the report. "Bruce told the judge it was not a 9mm, it was a .45-caliber pistol. He also told the judge that the cat, which could be seen moving on the teleconference monitor, was not a real cat. He said it was a 'spy cat.'" Bruce added, “I wouldn’t do that to a real cat.”

As of press time, Bruce was scheduled for a mental health evaluation today.