A road rage incident in Marion County turned into a rolling battle and shootout, the arrest of a passenger who allegedly utilized a green laser sight before shooting multiple rounds into a fleeing vehicle.
According to the arrest report, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy was working at the agency’s Forest District Office in Silver Springs on Friday night, September 18, when around 10 gunshots were heard in the immediate vicinity.
Moments later, dispatch received a call from two victims who said that a red pickup had just fired into their rear windshield around the 1990 block of SE 183rd Avenue Road in Ocklawaha.
According to the victims, they were driving eastbound on E Highway 40 near a Winn-Dixie when muzzle flashes were purportedly seen from the passenger window of a red Ford F-150. The victims claimed they proceeded eastbound until turning onto SE 183rd Avenue Road.
The driver of the Ford F-150 then reportedly pulled behind the victims, turned on an aftermarket light bar, and continued tailgating their vehicle. According to the report, one of the victims reported seeing a green laser pointing at them from the suspect vehicle’s passenger window.
Fearing for their lives, the victim indicated that they shot two rounds at the Ford F-150 in self-defense; however, they missed the pickup vehicle. The Ford’s passenger, later identified as Jaxon Myler Prater, allegedly replied by firing multiple shots, smashing the victims’ back windshield and damaging the passenger side of the trunk.
Deputies saw the Ford F-150 as it returned to E Highway 40 and conducted a traffic check. Prater and the pickup truck driver were both apprehended.
During questioning, the driver of the pickup vehicle told authorities that Prater had ingested alcohol before the event. The driver apparently admitted to becoming enraged by the victims’ driving, tailgating them, and witnessing Prater point the laser and fire the gun at their vehicle.
Furthermore, the pickup truck driver alleged that Prater considered throwing the pistol out the window while police were pursuing them. Prater allegedly told authorities that the driver’s account of events was correct, though the report stated that he refused to clarify further.
According to the report, a black 9-mm Taurus semi-automatic handgun with a green laser was found tucked under the passenger seat of the pickup truck. Deputies also allegedly found spent shot casings on the passenger floorboard, an empty magazine on the seat, and a full magazine behind the center console.
An MCSO deputy stated in the report that dashcam video from the victims’ vehicle caught the green laser and bullets during the incident.
Prater was arrested and placed into Marion County Jail, where he is currently held on a $150,000 bond. He is charged with two charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, shooting a firearm from a vehicle, firing a missile into a vehicle, and using or exhibiting a handgun while committing a felony.
According to jail records, Prater is set to appear in a Marion County courthouse at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, October 20.
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