A 24-year-old Florida man faces attempted murder charges after allegedly firing a shot at another driver during a road rage encounter in Miami. The incident unfolded on Saturday afternoon, leaving the victim fearing for his life. Police arrested the suspect shortly after the event.
On Saturday, just after noon, a victim reported a harrowing road rage incident to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office Hammocks District station. According to a probable cause affidavit, the victim was driving west on the 13300 block of SW 88th Street when Raul Alejandro Fontaine, driving a black Jeep Gladiator, pulled up aggressively by driving onto the sidewalk next to the passenger-side door.
Fontaine allegedly shouted, "You don't know who I am. Get out of the car. I'll beat your a—." The victim managed to drive away, but Fontaine pursued and positioned his vehicle next to the driver's side window, yelling, "I'm going to f—ing shoot you."
In heavy traffic surrounded by other vehicles, Fontaine then discharged a firearm from his Jeep toward the victim, nearly striking him. The affidavit describes the act as "imminently dangerous" and indicative of a "depraved mind without regard for any human life."
The victim, who was stopped at a light, exited his car and retrieved the spent bullet slug, which had lodged in a nearby wall before falling into the street. He then followed Fontaine's vehicle, using his phone to record the license plate.
With this information, authorities issued a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) alert for the Jeep. Officers soon located the vehicle parked outside a residence in the 13000 block of SW 202nd Avenue. They established a perimeter and took Fontaine into custody after spotting him walking nearby.
During a post-Miranda interview, Fontaine admitted to the road rage encounter but claimed he fired a single shot at a nearby wall to scare the other driver, according to Miami ABC affiliate WPLG.
Fontaine, 24, faces charges of second-degree attempted murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and unlawfully discharging a firearm in a public place. He is held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and is scheduled for a pretrial detention hearing on Wednesday.