MITCHELL — A Bedford man was arrested Sunday after Lawrence County police investigated a reported road rage incident in which a handgun was allegedly displayed at another vehicle on State Road 37.
Carter Brown, 20, faces charges of intimidation with a deadly weapon and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, according to a Lawrence County Police Department probable cause affidavit.
The incident was reported shortly before 1 p.m. Aug. 16. According to the affidavit, a 911 caller reported that the driver of a white sedan had brandished a firearm during a road rage incident.
The caller reported the vehicles had been traveling southbound on State Road 37 and said the white sedan had pulled into a vacant lot along the highway. The caller provided police with a possible license plate number.
Deputy Michael Martin later spotted a white Chevrolet Sonic traveling southbound on State Road 37 near Doc Hamilton Road. The license plate matched the number provided to police.
Martin initiated a felony traffic stop just south of the intersection of State Road 37 and State Road 60 West in Mitchell, with assistance from Mitchell Police Officer Cody Grogan.
The driver was identified as Brown, and the passenger was detained. Both occupants complied with officers’ commands and were taken into custody without incident.
After being advised of his Miranda rights, Brown agreed to speak with Martin about the incident, according to the affidavit.
Brown acknowledged that a firearm had been in his lap during the incident but denied pointing it at the other vehicle. Brown told Martin the firearm did not have a magazine in it at the time and said he did not point the gun out the window.
Brown told police the other vehicle had nearly struck him after allegedly moving without using a turn signal near the Hobson Ford dealership in Bedford.
Brown consented to a search of his vehicle for the firearm, according to the affidavit. Martin located a 9mm handgun underneath the front passenger seat. The firearm was unloaded, while a loaded magazine was found in the glove compartment. Officers also located a single 9mm round underneath the driver’s seat.
Police later spoke with the driver of the other vehicle involved in the incident. The driver told officers the vehicles had been traveling southbound on State Road 37 near the White River bridge when the incident occurred.
The driver told police the white sedan nearly rear-ended his vehicle while attempting to pass. He said he then moved back into the right lane and the sedan nearly struck his vehicle again.
According to the affidavit, the passenger in the other vehicle rolled down a window and told Brown to slow down. The driver alleged that Brown then brandished the firearm.
The driver told police he slowed down to get away from the sedan and later obtained its license plate number while stopped at a traffic light.
Martin conducted a second interview with Brown at the Lawrence County Jail. Brown again denied displaying the firearm but acknowledged that the gun had been sitting in his lap while his driver’s side window was down.
The affidavit states police later learned Brown, who is under 23, had previously been adjudicated a delinquent child for an act described under Indiana law that makes it unlawful for him to carry a handgun.
The firearm, magazine and ammunition were collected as evidence. Brown was arrested and transported to the Lawrence County Jail.
The charges are allegations, and Brown is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
