POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A road rage incident in Polk County led to the arrest of a 64-year-old man on Sunday after he allegedly brandished a firearm and aimed it at another vehicle containing a 3-year-old child, according to the local sheriff’s office.
The altercation unfolded at approximately 11:40 a.m. near Mary Holland Park in Bartow, escalating into a dangerous confrontation.
Authorities stated that the victims, accompanied by the child, were driving south on Harden Boulevard near Pipkin Road when the suspect, identified as Stephen Phillips from Mulberry, abruptly “brake-checked” their vehicle and exhibited erratic driving behavior.
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The escalation reached a peak when both vehicles stopped side-by-side at a traffic light. At this point, deputies reported that Phillips drew a gun and aimed it at the victims. The victims also claimed Phillips directed “repeated racial slurs” at them, leaving them in fear for their lives.
Initially, Phillips denied ever pulling out a firearm, but he later confessed to drawing the weapon, though he insisted he did not aim it directly at the other car.
“The victims provided detectives a photo of the encounter, which showed Phillips holding up a .22 caliber Phoenix Arms HP firearm,” the sheriff’s office said in a release.
Phillips was arrested and faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and improper exhibition of a firearm. The sheriff’s office said Phillips is an optician in Lakeland.
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