Road Rage Shooting On Interstate Highway 5; Livermore Man Arrested
LIVERMORE (CBS SF) -- A Livermore man was arrested at his home after he allegedly shot at a car on a highway in Fresno County on Sunday morning during a road rage incident.
The incident began around 9 a.m. on northbound Interstate Highway 5 near state Highway 198, according to the Fresno County Sheriff's Office.
A 40-year-old man was driving when he noticed a Toyota Camry driving behind him, weaving in and out of traffic. The driver of the Camry, later identified as 70-year-old John Sayer, then got behind the victim and began tailgating him, sheriff's officials said.
Once traffic cleared, Sayer got into the other lane of the highway, passed the victim and then got back in front of him. The victim then got into the other lane, passed up Sayer and then got back in front of him, according to the sheriff's office.
Sayer then changed lanes and began driving alongside the victim, with his driver's side window rolled down. The victim heard a loud banging noise, but was unsure if the noise was gunfire or just road debris.
The victim chased after Sayer and began recording the vehicle with his cellphone, including the vehicle's license plate, sheriff's officials said.
Moments later, a California Highway Patrol officer pulled the victim over for speeding. The victim explained to the officer that he was trying to catch up to a driver who may have shot at his car.
When the officer checked the car, the officer found a bullet hole in the vehicle's passenger door, according to the sheriff's office.
The victim gave the officer a description of the suspect, as well as the cellphone video, which had the vehicle's license plate, sheriff's officials said.
The CHP officer gave the information to Fresno County sheriff's detectives. After looking up the license plate number, detectives found the vehicle was registered to Sayer.
After alerting police, officers showed up to Sayer's home in the 1400 block of Fifth Street in Livermore. There, officers found Sayer and arrested him on suspicion of assault with a firearm and shooting at an occupied vehicle, according to the sheriff's office.
Fresno County sheriff's detectives arrived at the home with a search warrant. At the home, detectives recovered seven guns, including three handguns, three assault rifles as well as a sniper rifle. Thousands round of ammunition were also found, sheriff's officials said.
Detectives found that all of the guns were legally registered to Sayer, who has no prior criminal history.
Sayer has since posted bail and is out of custody, according to the sheriff's office.
© Copyright 2016 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.