Inset: Raul Alejandro Fontaine (Miami-Dade Corrections & Rehabilitation). Background: The area in Miami where Fontaine allegedly shot at another driver on Saturday (Google Maps).
A 24-year-old man in Florida is accused of attempting to kill a driver during a road rage incident over the weekend, allegedly pulling up alongside the victim and ordering him to get out of his car before firing and nearly hitting the other man.
Raul Alejandro Fontaine is facing one count each of second-degree attempted murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and unlawfully discharging a firearm in a public place, court records show.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the victim went to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office Hammocks District station just after noon on Saturday to report the alleged incident. He had retrieved the slug Fontaine allegedly fired at him and gave it to deputies.
Deputies accompanied the victim to the 13300 block of SW 88th Street to inspect the area. There, they noted that a wall had been damaged where the bullet appeared to have struck.
The victim said he was driving west on 88th Street when an unknown male, later identified as Fontaine, in a black Jeep Gladiator drove onto the sidewalk and stopped next to the passenger-side door of his car.
Fontaine allegedly yelled, "You don't know who I am. Get out of the car. I'll beat your a—."
The victim said he was able to drive away from the initial interaction, but Fontaine followed him and stopped next to his driver-side window and allegedly yelled, "I'm going to f—ing shoot you."
"The victim stated he was in fear for his life when the defendant recklessly and negligently discharged a firearm from his vehicle as he was traveling on SW 88th Street during heavy traffic, surrounded by multiple vehicles, in the direction of the victim, nearly striking him," the affidavit states. "The act was imminently dangerous to the victim and demonstrated a depraved mind without regard for any human life."
Because the victim was stopped at the time, he was able to get out of his car and retrieve the spent round, which had struck the wall and stopped in the street next to his car. He then followed the shooter, using his cellphone to record the vehicle and license plate.
Once he had the shooter's license plate, the victim drove to the sheriff's office and a BOLO was put out for the Jeep Gladiator.
Authorities soon located the Jeep parked outside a residence in the 13000 block of SW 202nd Avenue in Miami. Deputies established a perimeter around the address and took Fontaine into custody after he was spotted walking nearby.
In a post-Miranda interview with detectives, Fontaine admitted that he was involved in a road rage incident, claiming he fired a single shot at a nearby wall in an attempt to scare the other person, Miami ABC affiliate WPLG reported.
Fontaine is currently being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center without bond, records show. He is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for a pretrial detention hearing.
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