Driver pointed gun during road rage incident near Patterson middle school, deputies say
A Patterson man is accused of pointing a gun at another motorist during a road rage incident in front of a middle school at the end of the school day Friday.
The incident started at American Eagle and Sperry avenues around 3 p.m., when the suspect in a black Dodge Ram pickup pulled up behind the victim at a stoplight, said Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Sgt. Josh Clayton.
The suspect revved his engine and yelled out the window at the victim, then pulled out two handguns and “rubbed the barrels together,” Clayton said.
The victim told authorities he did not know what prompted the incident.
They both turned left onto American Eagle and drove toward Creekside Middle School.
In the area of the school zone, the suspect pulled into the opposite lane, sped up and pointed one of the guns at the victim as he passed, Clayton said.
The victim pulled over and called 911. He had taken note of the personalized license plate on the pickup, which included the first four letters of the suspect’s last name, Clayton said.
Deputies ran the plate and found it was registered to a home on Gannett Lane a few blocks away.
There they contacted 25-year-old Carlos Amezcua, who allowed deputies to search his home, Clayton said.
Inside the kitchen, they found a silver handgun and a black handgun, which matched the description given by the victim, he said.
Amezcua was also found to be under the influence of alcohol, Clayton said.
He was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm in a school zone, child endangerment, driving under the influence and brandishing a weapon.
This story was originally published February 10, 2020 at 3:31 PM.
