A Leesburg man was arrested after shooting out a driver’s back tire during a bout of road rage.
Police responded to a shooting near 819 South Lone Oak Drive at 6:06 p.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
Upon arrival, the officers spoke with the male victim. He advised that he was traveling east on center street when he noticed the driver of a vehicle, later identified as 39-year-old Anthony Stephon Calloway, following his vehicle too closely. He pulled over to let the vehicle pass and continued in the same direction, the report said.
The vehicle, now in front of the victim, started to brake check him while traveling east on Center Street. It then pulled off the road in front of the Cypress Oaks apartment complex, located at 336 Sandy Oaks Circle, and Calloway approached the victim. He asked Calloway if everything was alright, leading to a verbal confrontation, the report said.
The victim argued with Calloway while video recording on his iPhone. During this, Calloway pulled out a firearm and stated he was going to “blast him.” The victim continued arguing with him, taking the element of well-founded fear out of the equation, the report said.
The verbal altercation continued until the victim pulled away, at which time a single pop sounding like a gunshot came from behind the victim’s vehicle. He went to his residence and observed his rear passenger tire was punctured and flat, the report said.
The victim gave law enforcement a sworn statement and the video recording he took of the altercation on his iPhone, the report said.
Officers canvassed the area around Cypress Oaks and came in contact with the vehicle in question parked in a handicap spot in front of building 304. It was still warm to the touch on the hood, the report said.
The registered owner showed an address at the apartments of 308 Sandy Oaks Circle. Additional involvements concerning the vehicle were searched in house, which came back with information involving a driver identified as Calloway. He showed an address within the same apartment complex, the report said.
The officers tried to make contact with Calloway at his listed apartment number but were unsuccessful. So, they continued researching involvements with Calloway and found an updated booking photo along with a driver’s license photo. These matched his appearance in the video recording of the incident, the report said.
During the investigation, Calloway called LPD and was patched through to the on-scene officers on a recorded line, the report said.
“I warned him several times that I was in fear for my life, and I had a gun.” Calloway told the officer. “I counted down in an attempt to warn him, and I shot the gun at the ground.”
After speaking with Calloway on the phone, the officer was able to convince him to meet in person to provide his account of the incident. He met with the officer at 737 South 14th Street, and an interview was conducted. Calloway provided the same account as he did over the phone and confirmed the officer’s previous suspicions, the report said.
The report noted that a criminal history check was conducted that showed Calloway was a convicted felon. He was arrested for cocaine possession three times in 2003, 2005 and 2006. He also left the scene of a crash with injury in 2006, the report said.
Calloway was ultimately arrested on charges of shoot or throw deadly missile into building or vehicle (occupied) and possession of a firearm/ammo by convicted felon. He was transported to the Lake County Jail and released after posting $20,000 bond.