road rage

[buster8591]

What is the name of your state? Indiana
I was coming home the other day and a driver gave me a hard time and gave me the finger several times. I threw my drink at his car. He followed me and I jumped out with a small crowbar in my hand and told him to get out of here. Later the police showed up at my house and had been told I jumped out with a gun. I showed them the crowbar in my car. They asked if I had any guns and I opened my gun safe and showed them my pistols. They took digital pictures of my guns to see if the other guy can pick out the gun. How much trouble am I going to be in? Should I have refused to show them my guns? It is my word against his.

 

[stephenk]

First, did you deny the incident to the police? What did you tell the police regarding the event.

I wouldnt have shown them the guns. the guy may describe a "blue steel automatic" and odds are good one of your guns is a blue steel automatic. Or they may show him the photos and say pick out the one you used.

 

[buster8591]

I told them that I got out with a small crowbar because he was acting like a jerk. I did show them the guns. He told them it was a black gun and in reality it was a black crowbar. I do have one black gun. I know now I shouldn't have shown them the guns but I really didn't think I had done anything that bad. They told me they would do a gun "lineup" and if he identified one of my guns it wuld be up to the prosecutor to press charges or not. This has made me sick. I haven't been in trouble for a long time. Thanks for your reply.

 

[brake pedal]

I threw my drink at his car.

So he gave you a hard time. You admit to throwing the drink on his car. You also admit to jumping out on him with the crow bar.
These statements indicate to me you were the aggressor in this situation. You also admit to being in trouble before. Could it have been in relation to the same type of incident as this?

The only thing I will say is that in this state, gun or crowbar it’s considered a weapon. The punishment may be a little stiffer with a gun. As for whether it’s was a gun or a crowbar. As long as the victim think’s it's a gun, then it's a gun.
Depending on vision conditions and how you held the crowbar I could see where the victim could believe it was a gun.

I hope You will learn something from this.
The roads are dangerous enough, without this sort of thing.

 

[buster8591]

The last trouble I was in was a speeding ticket 11years ago. This guy chased me for 5 miles before I threw the coke.

 

[GKris]

Unless the other guy is the prosecutors son or something like that, nothing should happen. Prosecutors are sometimes "different", but if the police did not pursue any further investigations other than a photo of the guns then nothing will go any further. Cooperation actually helped you here rather than hurt you I think, but never never allow anyone to search your home (which is what you did) without a warrant.

 

[brake pedal]

for 5 miles

"The last trouble I was in was a speeding ticket 11years ago. This guy chased me for 5 miles before I threw the coke."


i stand partially corrected,i apologize. when you said you hadn't been "in trouble" in a long time. i do not consider a speeding ticket as being "in trouble".


I stand partially corrected and I apologize. When you said you hadn't been "in trouble" in a long time. I do not consider a speeding ticket as being "in trouble".

If the guy followed you for five miles, sure he was exhibiting aggressive behavior, also. But when you threw the coke, you escalated the matter. The big mistake you made was jumping out on the guy. Especially with the crow bar, that made matters very serious.
My advice concerning the difference in whether it was a crow bar or a gun still stands. You could be charged with a form of ,felony assault. (In this state)
Also, the other guy could have had a gun.
But if the felony assault does come about. It is possible; it could all be thrown out, as gkris says. Prosecutors do not seem to like prosecuting people when their victim bears a good deal of fault for the incident. A plea bargain may also be offered, also.

But in the future in a case such as this, I would suggest you call the police via cell phone or drive to a police station.
Also, I suggest you refrain from escalating the matter further by throwing things, making hand signs and jumping out on people.
Had you not done any of that, in this case, the other guy would have been totally at fault. Prosecutors wouldn't have to sort thru what he did and what you did, which confuses the issues.

Thanks for posting, I apologize that I was so harsh in the first post. It is just hard for me to fathom why someone would jump out on an individual with a crow bar on a public street. When the other individual did not pose a direct, immediate threat to the individual’s safety.

 

[OnlyOneVoice]

Hot Tip of the Day:

If you are being pursued by another driver or are being intimidated by another driver, your best defense is to drive straight to your local police dept even if you are still being followed and report the incident.

Don't respond, don't look at the other person, don't act aggressively. Too many people have died as the result of road rage.

Driving to the police station will no doubt defuse the situation. Also, DON'T drive home. If the aggressor is really a nut and you drive home, he/she could begin a process of stalking you so never ever drive home if you are being followed.

GO STRAIGHT TO THE POLICE STATION!!!!

 

[buster8591]

Thank you all for your responses.
I did learn a valuable lesson...don't throw a coke or anything and go to the police station. My guess is that he would have drove on.
I hope my experience helps someone else to ovoid this