SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake City man is accused of firing a gun at another driver on I-15 during a road rage confrontation.
Pedro Encarnacion, 31, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with aggravated assault and discharge of a firearm, second-degree felonies; and reckless driving, a class A misdemeanor. Each charge comes with a road rage penalty enhancement if convicted.
On May 22, a man was in his work vehicle, a Ford, on northbound I-15 near 2100 South when he attempted to pass a Kia that was driving slowly, according to charging documents.
Encarnacion then "pulled his Kia in front of the Ford, and slammed on his brakes. (The victim) attempted to pass the Kia. However, Encarnacion kept pulling in front of the Ford and would not let (the driver) pass," the charges state.
Encarnacion then pulled up next to the Ford, pointed a gun at the victim and fired a round. The victim "ducked to avoid being shot or killed by the bullet. A single bullet hole and a bullet was located in the Ford," according to the charges.
Using surveillance video and cellphone data, detectives identified Encarnacion as a possible suspect and arrested him on June 1 at 2844 S. 1030 West. When he was taken into custody, police say he was in possession of a gun and two magazines.
"A warrant was obtained to search Encarnacion's Kia where two additional magazines and a single spent cartridge casing was located," charging documents state.
