Photo: GulfCoastNews
A road rage confrontation in Fort Myers escalated into gunfire early Sunday morning, leading to the arrests of two men after police say a passenger fired multiple shots at a food delivery driver during a chase through city streets.
According to a Fort Myers Police Department arrest report, officers responded around 1:18 a.m. after receiving a report that someone had fired at a silver Mercedes near Colonial Boulevard. Officers soon located a black Nissan Pathfinder matching the description at a RaceTrac gas station on Cleveland Avenue and detained three occupants.
Police identified the driver as H, 23, rear passenger R, 31, following an investigation, H and R were arrested, the other passenger was released.
The victim, told officers he was delivering food when he encountered the Nissan driving the wrong way through an apartment complex near Six Mile Cypress Parkway. The victim said a verbal confrontation began at a traffic light before both vehicles continued onto Challenger Boulevard. After the Nissan’s occupants challenged him to fight, the victim briefly stopped to speak with them but drove away when they became aggressive, according to the report.
Investigators say the Nissan then struck the victim’s Mercedes, fled the scene and was pursued by the victim, who was attempting to obtain information for police. During the chase, the victim told officers he saw a passenger fire two shots from a handgun out of the Nissan before the vehicles continued through several intersections. The victim later identified R as the shooter during a police show-up.
After being advised of their Miranda rights, the three occupants gave similar accounts of the road rage incident and acknowledged that R fired the gun, although they told investigators it was fired toward the ground. Police said damage to both vehicles was consistent with multiple collisions during the pursuit.
While inventorying the Nissan before it was towed, officers recovered a 9mm handgun, suspected cocaine, marijuana, a digital scale and multiple small plastic baggies commonly associated with narcotics distribution, according to the report. Field tests indicated the suspected drugs tested positive for cocaine and marijuana.
R was charged with discharging a firearm from a vehicle, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and three counts of possession of a controlled substance. H was charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage. Both were booked into the Lee County Jail.
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Source: GulfCoastNewSnow
