A Brandon man is facing a staggering 21 felony charges after a road rage incident on I-75 in Tampa on Saturday night.
While the Florida Highway Patrol released few details about the interaction leading up to the crime, it ended with one driver firing three shots into a car full of people.
Troopers were dispatched to the area of northbound I-75 approaching Gibsonton Drive at around 8 p.m. and found one car being chased down the highway by another.
The victim vehicle got off I-75 and ran a red light while trying to escape, at which point the suspect vehicle got back onto the highway, exited at I-4, continued westbound, then exited onto U.S. Highway 301.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office assisted with a high-risk traffic stop, and the two adults in the car, the driver and front seat passenger, were detained. There were also three children in the backseat, ages 4, 8, and 12.
The driver, who FHP said is also the suspected shooter, was identified as 33-year-old GM.
Police also discovered gold shell casings and a black handgun inside the suspect’s car.
The five victims, a 17-year-old, 19-year-old, and three 20-year-olds, ended up at a nearby Walmart, where they were met by another trooper. The trooper found three bullet holes in their Kia sedan: one in the passenger taillight, one above the rear passenger tire, and one in the rear passenger door, FHP said.
Later in the investigation, M admitted to shooting three rounds out of the driver’s side window at the victims’ car. He told police he feared for his life because, during the initial road-rage incident, one of the Kia passengers began throwing things at his car.
M was placed under arrest just before 2 a.m. on Jan. 11 and booked into the Hillsborough County Jail.
He is facing 21 felony charges: three counts of child neglect, three counts of discharging a firearm from a vehicle, three counts of shooting at a vehicle, five counts of attempted first-degree murder, five counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, criminal mischief and possession of a firearm during a felony. He is also facing a misdemeanor reckless driving charge.
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Source: wfla
