Man Charged With Shooting Gun Near Plymouth Plow Driver Released On Bail
PLYMOUTH (CBS) -- A man accused of firing a gun near a Plymouth plow driver in an apparent road rage incident during the height of the weekend snowstorm was released on $2,500 bail Monday after his arraignment in Plymouth District Court.
Bruce O'Brien, 60, of Whitman, pleaded not guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm under influence of liquor, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, and disorderly conduct.
O'Brien told police he was driving behind the plow driver on Rocky Hill Road around 7 p.m. Saturday when he tried to pass the plow.
They said that the plow driver then swerved toward O'Brien, nearly hitting his wife in the passenger seat.
Prosecutors say O'Brien told police he feared for his life, and pulled out a handgun, firing at the ground. Several people out shoveling on the street heard the sounds, and reported gunshots to police.
A woman, who declined to identify herself, told WBZ-TV's Jim Smith she heard the gun fire.
"I was at the window in my kitchen and I heard a loud boom," she says. "I couldn't believe it, and I still can't believe it."
Jack Diamond, O'Brien's attorney, said the shots were fired outside the driver's side window into the dirt and not out the passenger's side window at the plow truck driver.
When he was later pulled over, police found shell casings in O'Brien's car. Investigators say O'Brien cooperated, giving them a statement that night.
O'Brien was ordered to surrender all of his firearms to Whitman Police and to have no further contact with the plow driver.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 23.