Man charged with pointing gun at couple during road rage incident on I-40

MORGANTON, N.C. — A man was arrested for a road rage incident in Morganton over the weekend.

On Sunday, Morganton Public Safety officers were called to Interstate 40 near Exit 105. They were told someone had been pointing a gun at cars on the highway. The caller reached out to police when they spotted the suspect’s car.

When they arrived, officers found Michael Jones, from Georgia, in the parking lot of a Sonic Drive-In. He matched the description given of the suspect.

Officers were able to confirm Jones had been part of a road rage incident that started miles away on Highway 64 and continued down I-40 before stopping at the Sonic. During the incident, Jones allegedly aimed a gun at a couple from Marion.

“He pulled a 9-millimeter out and pointed it at us,” William Shrubb said.

The husband told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty that Jones had tried to pass earlier along a two-lane section of the road and nearly struck their rear bumper before pointing the firearm. His wife had called the highway patrol and they worked to get a tag number along the interstate.

Police said it’s never a good idea to pull over and get out of your car during a road rage case; call police instead.

“You don’t want to engage with people like that,” Chief Jason Whisnant said. “Many people are carrying weapons these days, and you approach another driver in a heat of passion and those outcomes are not good.”

The couple said they spotted Jones’ car at the Sonic where police made the arrest. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

“I tell people all the time, if you got someone that crazy in a car and you see a firearm, drive to your nearest police department. That’s all you can do,” Shrubb said. “You don’t know what people are capable of today.”

Officers found a 9-millimeter handgun behind the bushes at the Sonic, not far from where families were eating at the restaurant.

Police arrested Jones and charged him with two counts of misdemeanor assault by pointing a gun. He was given a $5,000 secured bond and is scheduled to be in court next month. He had bonded out of jail by Monday afternoon.

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