Inset, left to right: Daniel Jude Jimenez Jr. and Lois Badillo-Lopez (Bexar County Sheriff's Office). Background: the area in Texas where the couple allegedly shot at a man during a road rage incident (KSAT).
A Texas man allegedly opened fire on another driver during a road rage confrontation that began after the other vehicle splashed a puddle onto his car — all while his 2-year-old child sat in the back seat, authorities said.
Daniel Jude Jimenez Jr., 32, and Lois Badillo-Lopez, 29, are each charged in Bexar County with aggravated assault for discharging a firearm from a vehicle, a first-degree felony, and child endangerment, a second-degree felony, according to court records.
The investigation began after a man called San Antonio police on July 11 and reported he had just been involved in a shootout on westbound Interstate 10, local ABC affiliate KSAT reported, citing arrest affidavits.
The confrontation started moments earlier on East Houston Street near I-10 after the man's vehicle drove through a puddle, splashing the defendants' car, according to local CBS affiliate KENS, citing arrest affidavits.
As both vehicles merged onto the interstate, the victim said he saw Jimenez "accelerate" and pull alongside his car, then lower his window and yell to get his attention.
When the driver rolled down his own window, he told police he saw Jimenez holding a black handgun equipped with "a red-dot optic," adding that Jimenez was "waving it" in his direction, according to the affidavits.
Fearing for his safety, the man told investigators he "retrieved his lawfully possessed handgun." But as he turned toward Jimenez, Jimenez "immediately fired multiple rounds" into the man's vehicle, police alleged.
The driver told investigators he returned fire before exiting at South Gevers Street, driving home and calling 911. Officers later found at least five apparent bullet strikes in the lower driver-side door of his vehicle, though he suffered no injuries, according to the affidavits.
The man also voluntarily turned over dashcam footage that investigators said corroborated his account, showing the puddle splash, the suspects' vehicle catching up on Interstate 10, the "exchange of gunfire," and the victim exiting the freeway, KSAT reported.
Detectives used the video's license plate information to identify Jimenez's vehicle and located it about a week later at his apartment complex, where they observed what appeared to be a gunshot strike to the rear passenger-side door.
During interviews with detectives, Badillo-Lopez admitted that the couple's 2-year-old child was sitting in the rear passenger seat throughout the gunfire, KENS reported. After she saw the other driver display a gun, she allegedly retrieved her own handgun, inserted a loaded magazine, chambered a round and handed the weapon to Jimenez, investigators said.
Badillo-Lopez claimed the other driver fired first, while Jimenez similarly told detectives he only began shooting after the other motorist opened fire, according to the affidavits.
Unlike the other driver, however, neither Jimenez nor Badillo-Lopez contacted law enforcement after the shooting, police said. Investigators also allege the pair discarded spent shell casings afterward.
Court records show both defendants were being held on $150,000 bonds. Jimenez posted bond and was released, while Badillo-Lopez remained in custody as of Tuesday morning.
Both are scheduled to appear in court again on Oct. 20.