NORRISTOWN — While a Philadelphia man suggested he acted in self-defense when he fired a handgun at another driver’s vehicle during a road rage incident along Route 309 in Upper Dublin Township, he learned he’ll be under court supervision for about three years for assault.
Shaun Haleem Williams, 31, of the 6800 block of Clearview Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail, to be followed by one year of probation, for a total period of supervision of three years in connection with the April 2024 incident that occurred in the southbound lanes of Route 309.
However, Judge Risa Vetri Ferman said Williams is eligible for the jail’s work release program during the first three months of the sentence and then house arrest for the remaining minimum 8½ month jail term.
Under the jail’s current guidelines, work release is also treated as house arrest. That means, Williams, who was taken into custody to begin his sentence, could be released to house arrest within days or weeks once jail officials verify his employment and approve his application for work release.
Williams, who pleaded guilty to a felony charge of aggravated assault in connection with the traffic altercation, said he is currently working as an assistant manager at a gym and for a moving company he owns.
Ferman also ordered Williams to complete 50 hours of community service and an anger management treatment program.
Even though he pleaded guilty to the charge and acknowledged he shouldn’t have fired the weapon, Williams told the judge in his mind he acted in self-defense.
Ferman rejected Williams’ claim.
“He is continually trying to justify his actions which the court finds were not justified. Shooting into a moving vehicle driving down the road next to you is reckless. He acted with reckless disregard for the value of human life. He deliberately fired a gun at another person,” Ferman said. “This was a road rage incident that ended with the firing of a gun from one car into another car.”
Under state law, by pleading guilty to aggravated assault, Williams admitted that he attempted to cause bodily injury to another person with a deadly weapon. The other driver was not struck by the gunfire.
During a lengthy statement, Williams claimed the man driving the Ford F-150 pickup truck with whom he interacted while jockeying for position on Route 309 flashed a derogatory hand gesture at him, waved what he said he believed was a gun at him and drove toward him, causing him to fear for his safety.
“In my mind, I fired at the vehicle in order to protect myself. I fired a warning shot at the vehicle. I shot in the direction of the vehicle. I shot the warning shot at the vehicle, not actually at him, but at the vehicle. I do regret this ever happening,” said Williams, maintaining his conduct was out of character.
“I am not this type of aggressor, shooter or killer,” added Williams, claiming it was the first time he ever fired his weapon outside of a gun range.
Testimony revealed state police determined the victim did not have a weapon or ammunition in his vehicle.
The victim did not attend the hearing but submitted a victim impact letter to the judge in which he claimed he feared for his life during the incident.
While suggesting he acted in self-defense, Williams said he pleaded guilty to the charge, and didn’t go to trial, because he wanted to put the matter behind him, given the fact he is the father of a newborn child.
Assistant District Attorney Robert Joseph Waeltz Jr. argued for a sentence of 11½ to 23 months for Williams and didn’t oppose house arrest eligibility but only after Williams served at least three months behind bars.
“On that day, Mr. Williams reacted in a very rash way which is why he ended up where he is. He decided to utilize a firearm during the course of a road rage incident in a completely unjustified manner,” Waeltz argued, adding Williams’ actions were not the actions of a lawful gun owner but the actions of someone who couldn’t control their anger or emotions.
“He shot at an unarmed man simply because he didn’t like the way he was driving. It was reckless, it was uncalled for and it was unjustified,” said Waeltz, adding drivers can’t resort to violence with a deadly weapon as they are jockeying for positions on a highway.
Defense lawyer Rania Maria Major argued for a probationary sentence for Williams.
“My client acted in self-defense during this. His intent was to protect himself,” Major argued, suggesting Williams didn’t actually intend to harm the other driver, who she maintained was “the aggressor.”
Major provided the judge with multiple letters of support for Williams from relatives and friends.
“He is an intelligent, honest, hardworking person who has never been in trouble before,” Major said.
The investigation began about 9:30 a.m. April 5, 2024, when state police at Philadelphia responded to a report that a shooting occurred on southbound Route 309 near the I-276 exit ramp. The male victim related to 911 operators that he pulled into a parking lot just off Route 309 in Cheltenham after the shooting to wait for police to arrive, according to a criminal complaint filed by state police Trooper Eugene Tray.
When police arrived on the parking lot they observed a single bullet hole in the passenger side of the victim’s Ford F-150 pickup truck. The investigation determined the bullet entered the victims’ vehicle through the passenger side rear door and stopped once it struck the metal B-pillar.
“The projectile could not be located within the truck. The victim advised troopers that he was not struck by the gunfire,” Tray alleged.
The victim told police he was traveling southbound in the left lane of Route 309 when he was “tailgated” by a dark gray hatchback-style vehicle whose operator then changed lanes to the right and pulled adjacent to the victim’s truck, according to the arrest affidavit.
The driver, subsequently identified as Williams, “brandished a black in color semiautomatic pistol out of the driver’s window and pointed it at the victim,” police alleged.
“Once the victim observed the firearm and now fearing for his life, he accelerated rapidly to avoid being shot. As he accelerated, the defendant fired one round from the black pistol at the victim’s truck, striking the truck on the passenger side B pillar,” Tray alleged. “The victim stated that at no point did he brandish a weapon nor provoke the defendant in any way prior to the round being discharged.”
After the shooting, Williams accelerated away and the victim then followed in an attempt to obtain a license plate number, including recording a cellphone video, but could not keep up with the speed of Williams’ vehicle and lost sight of the vehicle as it traveled toward the Philadelphia border. Police said the registration of Williams’ vehicle could not be determined as it had a tinted license plate cover.
But investigators were able to use automated license plate readers in the areas traveled by the suspect’s Mazda CX-30 vehicle to eventually assist them in identifying Williams, who matched the description of the suspect provided by the victim.
The investigation also revealed that Williams had a valid permit to carry a firearm and has purchased 9mm Taurus firearms between 2019 and 2022.
“Both of these firearms would match the firearm description as provided by the victim,” Tray alleged.
The victim subsequently identified Williams, from a driver’s license photograph, as the operator of the Mazda and as the person who shot at him, according to the arrest affidavit.
Later that same day, at 5 p.m., Exeter Township police in Berks County conducted a traffic stop of the Mazda CX-30 vehicle operated by Williams as it traveled eastbound on Route 422. During the traffic stop Williams advised police that there was a firearm in his vehicle and Williams was taken into custody at that point, court papers indicate.
Other charges of simple assault, terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person and possessing an instrument of crime were dismissed against Williams at time of sentencing in exchange for his guilty plea to the more serious felony aggravated assault charge.
Source: Berkshire mont
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