Cape detectives make arrest in ‘road rage’ incident
A Cape Coral man was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm after police say he confronted and then shot at a bicyclist who told him to slow down as well as three passersby who stopped to help the rider.
Pascual Ruiz III, 28 of 408 N.E. 24th Ave., was charged Thursday with four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm/deadly weapon, a third degree felony, Cape Coral police said in a prepared statement issued Friday.
The incident happened at approximately 6:45 p.m. near the 2800 block of Santa Barbara Blvd., officials said.
Officers answering the “shots fired” call were told by the bicyclist that he was riding his bike when a vehicle went by him at a high rate of speed. When he got next to the car at the stop light, he told the driver he needed to slow down, the release states, adding “The driver began yelling and threatening the victim.”
The rider told police he rode away when the light changed but the vehicle swerved towards him and then cut in front of him. He said the driver got out and began threatening to beat him up.
Three motorists saw what was happening, “feared for his safety and stopped to assist him,” officials said.
A female passenger was in the vehicle then moved to the driver seat and began yelling to the man got into the car. He got into the passenger side and, as they drove by, “pointed a semi-automatic handgun towards them and then fired 4 shots into the air. As the vehicle turned south onto Santa Barbara Boulevard, the male turned and fired a shot at the four victims,” the release states, adding “One of the victims reported that he heard the bullet go past him very close.”
The motorists who stopped and the bicyclist all told police that they were in fear of being shot, officials said.
Meanwhile, one of the motorists told police he had followed the suspect vehicle – described as a maroon Ford Fusion, 4-door, with Georgia license plate – but lost it in the 100 block of Southeast 30th Street.
Cape Coral Police officers, including the Street Crimes Unit, began searching for the vehicle and suspect that the victims described. A similar vehicle was located backed into the driveway at 325 S.E. 30th Street.
“When officers approached they noticed that the license was the same as described by the victims,” officials said.
A man came outside of residence then, when he saw officers, ran back inside before coming out again.
Officers detained the man and eventually – after a perimeter was established on the house and the Cape Coral Police Department SWAT team made multiple requests – the other occupants exited the residence.
Three of the victims then identified one of the men present as being the person who shot a firearm at them and fled. The fourth victim was able to partially identify the subject by description, police said.
The man was identified as Ruiz, who was placed under arrest. The residence and vehicle in the drive were secured pending the issuance of a search warrant.
Source: Cape Coral Police Department