Armed Man Arrested In Road Rage Incident On I-95
PERRYVILLE, Md. (WJZ) -- An armed Georgia man was arrested in a Christmas Eve road rage incident along Interstate 95 in Perryville, Md.
According to Maryland State Police, 33-year-old Ashanti A.S. Smalls of Atlanta was charged with first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and a number of gun-related charges Thursday afternoon following an incident along northbound I-95.
Police received a call just before 5 p.m. from a female motorist traveling with her two young children and her mother in the area of Route 22 in Harford County when she was involved in a road rage incident with another vehicle.
The driver said the suspect was driving a late-model, burgundy, 4-door car and described the man driving and his female passenger.
The caller told police when she pulled up next to the car, the man driving waved a gray or silver-colored gun at her. She ducked, slowed down and called 911.
A Toyota Avalon matching the suspect vehicle's description was seen by a trooper on patrol. The car was stopped near Route 222 and the driver was identified as Smalls. An adult female was in the passenger seat and a 14-month-old girl was fastened in a child safety seat in the back.
During a search of the driver's immediate area, police located a black metal handgun ammo magazine containing ten .40 caliber full metal jacket ammo rounds in the center console.
In the vehicle's glove boc were a gray/pink-colored handgun that was not holstered. Police said the handgun was a a Taurus .40 caliber containing a ten round ammo magazine that was fully loaded with hollow point ammo, with a round in the chamber.
Police called the Maryland Gun Center and learned Smalls did not posses a gun carry permit in Maryland.
An NCIC check revealed Smalls was prohibited from possessing regulated firearms due to felony convictions in Georgia.
He was placed under arrest and taken to the JFK Highway Barrack for processing. He will be taken to the Cecil County Detention Center for an initial appearance tonight. His female passenger was not charged.
Smalls was also charged with illegal possession of ammunition, possession of a firearm, firearms use/felon-violent crime, illegal possession of a regulated firearm, possession of a firearm with a felony conviction, handgun in a vehicle containing ten .40 caliber full metal jacket ammo round.
