Looking for a little help.....

[srice]

I was about 165 miles into a 300K brevet yesterday when I had an ugly confrontation with a motorist who I suspect was high. He turned around twice to come after me and I wisely got off the road so he wouldn't hit me or force me off the road. He ended up stopping to yell at me at which point he pulled a gun and pointed it straight at me(I think a 9mm Glock). When he saw that I had my cell phone camera, he took off. I did manage to get a photo of his license plate. I called 911 and dealt with the police. I have little hope that they are going to be too proactive in dealing with this guy. I intend to engage the county attorney this week and I would like to know the name of this gun wielding idiot beforeI start talking to the county attorney. Can anybody help me with a KY license plate search?

Thanks
Steve

[gemship]

Try talking to the DMV or talking to the state police?

[gone]

Wow Steve, talk about scary! I'm glad that it ended up "OK" and hope that the police do something about it. It certainly seems like they should, if someone pulling a gun and pointing it at somebody isn't worth taking the trouble to follow up on, what is?

Glad you're OK, could have ended very badly.

[SEABREEZE]

Hope you got a picture of him pointing the gun at you, otherwise he said, she said.

The fact you got a plate number and your alligations, without that picture of him pointing the gun, will be fruitless...

[jlwdm]

Photo of him pointing gun would be nice but not necessary.

Jeff

[Wilkinson4]

I have little hope that they are going to be too proactive in dealing with this guy.

Steve,

Luckily you are ok!!! If you have a plate, then this guy should be in serious trouble.

Menacing at the very least but he is probably facing a felony charge. I have had my share of confrontation. I had some punk kids pull a gun on me and it turned out to be a starter pistol.

A few years back some jacka** threw an egg mcmuffin or something at me and it hit me on the side of the head. I smelled food right before contact. I gave chase but it was on an uphill and he slowly disappeared. As I crested some couple had pulled over and they offered me his license plate.

I called the po-po and they took it very seriously. The DA did too and they charged this guy with (4) counts and he was convicted on all and had to server 90 days in jail. I think it was menacing, littering, assault. Shoot, can't remember the other one. 20 years old and now he has a rap.

Point is, if you have it pursue it... Go after that dude.

mIKE

[130R]

Thank goodness your ok. Unforunately things like this happen every now and again. Events like this are what me and my gf fear most on our rides. We ride a lot on country roads where no one can really witness anything. Sometimes she or I ride alone and we always worry about each other.

If the police find him and see that a glock is registered to him, that's proof he pointed a glock at you. or else how did you know he had a glock in the first place? Ya know??? It helps to know the model ie: 19 or 26 etc.

I'm glad you're ok. Things like this hit a little too close to home. I hope he gets what's coming to him.

[rwsaunders]

Take it all the way to the DA's office and they will follow up with your claim. As others have said, if he has a handgun registered with the police, your claim will certainly merit attention at a higher level.

[draper]

A 911 call reporting a driver waving a gun has brought fast action when I have reported it. I have twice had a similar experience. Different states, same action. Cops dropped what ever they were doing and hauled out to check the action.

Both times I was in rural areas got a description and a license #. As far as I know both were visited at home and check for the legality of their weapons. Brandishing is a big deal, if they have cc permits it can get them eliminated. If the police find a weapon matching the description given by a stranger it can mean some real heat for the owner.

Glad it didn't escalate and that you are around to tell the story.

[Satellite]

In Colorado, (I think countrywide too) you cannot research license plates only the police or the like have any access to the registration databases. There was a case sometime back where someone looked up a young woman’s plate he rape and killed her. It sounds like you are heading down the right avenues. The police and DA will take care of the rest. I am just glad you didn’t get seriously hurt.

[John M]

Can anybody help me with a KY license plate search?

Thanks
Steve

Wow! Crazy stuff. Luckily he backed off and left. I would, contact all possible jurisdictions:

County sheriff
Local Police
State Police
DA's office
Local bicycle advocacy group (do those exist in Kentucky? Here in the Pac NW, there is some political pull with cycling advocacy groups).

Some persistence on your part will eventually get someone in law enforcement to follow-up. A few years back, I was physically threatened by some rednecks while out riding south of my parents house in South Suburban Atlanta. I got some help from the Sheriffs office in following up with the thugs since I had their license plate number.

Be careful out there.

[srice]

Hope you got a picture of him pointing the gun at you, otherwise he said, she said.

The fact you got a plate number and your alligations, without that picture of him pointing the gun, will be fruitless...


Let's see. I am standing on the side of the road and some maniac is pointing a handgun at me. I agree that having a picture of this would be helpful in prosecuting this guy, but my first priority at this time was to get out of the line of fire. I moved towards the back of his Isuzu so that he would have to shoot through his girlfriend (which I still thought he would do). When he saw my cell phone, he took off. I was lucky to get the picture of the plate. Last thing I was going to do was to walk back towards the car and ask him to say cheese.

There was another witness with me and she has already given a statement to the police.

I spoke to a state trooper today and he indicated that the charges would be wanton endangerment and terroristic threatening - if they can find the guy.

I plan to spend quite a bit of time tomorrow dealing with the proper authorities in Bourbon county. I would like to be able to start with the perp's name, but I am seeing that unless I find a sympathetic cop, that isn't going to happen.

[Satellite]

Let's see. I am standing on the side of the road and some maniac is pointing a handgun at me. I agree that having a picture of this would be helpful in prosecuting this guy, but my first priority at this time was to get out of the line of fire. I moved towards the back of his Isuzu so that he would have to shoot through his girlfriend (which I still thought he would do). When he saw my cell phone, he took off. I was lucky to get the picture of the plate. Last thing I was going to do was to walk back towards the car and ask him to say cheese.

There was another witness with me and she has already given a statement to the police.

I spoke to a state trooper today and he indicated that the charges would be wanton endangerment and terroristic threatening - if they can find the guy.

I plan to spend quite a bit of time tomorrow dealing with the proper authorities in Bourbon county. I would like to be able to start with the perp's name, but I am seeing that unless I find a sympathetic cop, that isn't going to happen.If they eventually find him, you will know his name. I don't really understand what knowing his name now will get you. They have a word for that, "Vigilante", that would only escalated the already dangerous situation and the authorities don’t want that.

[avalonracing]

Keep us in the loop as this pans out.

[srice]

If they eventually find him, you will know his name. I don't really understand what knowing his name now will get you. They have a word for that, "Vigilante", that would only escalated the already dangerous situation and the authorities don’t want that.

Believe me, I have no desire to ever see this guy again except for in a court. Vigilante has nothing to do with why I would like to know who it is. I want to dig up any information I can so that I can be as informed as possible when I speak to the authorities.

[Satellite]

Believe me, I have no desire to ever see this guy again except for in a court. Vigilante has nothing to do with why I would like to know who it is. I want to dig up any information I can so that I can be as informed as possible when I speak to the authorities.
Srice,

What happened to you was bad, I am NOT going to argue with that. Let the police do there job and find the guy. It shouldn't be too hard for them to do since you have already done your job and got the plate number. What difference does it make if you know the guy when you talk to the police. Tell the events as they unfolded to the best of your knowledge. So what if he didn't graduate from high school.

Satellite

[srice]

Srice,

What happened to you was bad, I am NOT going to argue with that. Let the police do there job and find the guy. It shouldn't be too hard for them to do since you have already done your job and got the plate number. What difference does it make if you know the guy when you talk to the police. Tell the events as they unfolded to the best of your knowledge. So what if he didn't graduate from high school.

Satellite


I already know where the guy lives - I have no intention of going anywhere near there. The cops told me his address last evening when I was speaking to them on the side of the road. What I am interested in is prior felonies. Based on the conversation with the police last night, I have little confidence that they will pursue this issue unless I push. In order to push, I want to be as informed as possible. Just like any other issue, I prefer to stack the deck in my favor with knowledge. That is all I am looking for.

[Louis]

The cops told me his address last evening when I was speaking to them on the side of the road.

Sounds like they want you to be the vigilante.

Hope you can get them to do the right thing.

[Satellite]

I already know where the guy lives - I have no intention of going anywhere near there. The cops told me his address last evening when I was speaking to them on the side of the road. What I am interested in is prior felonies. Based on the conversation with the police last night, I have little confidence that they will pursue this issue unless I push. In order to push, I want to be as informed as possible. Just like any other issue, I prefer to stack the deck in my favor with knowledge. That is all I am looking for.
Srice,

So if he has a felony does that make this any better or worse? If you already have his address it should make finding out his name easy. Then how are you going to go about find out if he has a felony. Let the police do there job keep on the police. Leave this guy alone, you will have your day in court.

Satellite

[Birddog]

I already know where the guy lives
If you know the address, then you can find his name from that. The county assessor likely has a public page that shows the property and the owner's name. Dig a little, you can find it all on your puter.

[SEABREEZE]

If this incident gets to the DA, they will pull up his criminal history...

[bironi]

I suspect the guy has enough in his history to make this offense hurt. I went through the process of pushing the police and prosecutors to remedy a less serious cycling case. I was reluctant to speak up in court. I thought the judge would see the facts the way I did. He did not come down on the guy as hard as I wanted, and I regret not making a statement when I was provided the opportunity. I totally understand not wanting any contact with the guy that threatened you. I had some bad dreams after my incident, and was freaked out by red pickups and shaved heads for a few weeks after.

Keep giving the investigators and prosecutors encouragement. It worked for me. :beer:

[pbjbike]

Srice,

So if he has a felony does that make this any better or worse? If you already have his address it should make finding out his name easy. Then how are you going to go about find out if he has a felony. Let the police do there job keep on the police. Leave this guy alone, you will have your day in court.

Satellite

Exactly. Rest assured he's been freaking out all weekend about you taking a picture of his plate.

[johnnymossville]

oh man I'm glad you are ok. that's terrible.

[cosmonaut]

If this incident gets to the DA, they will pull up his criminal history...
Very true, but informing the police that you've done your due diligence and show them that he has priors will go a long way in your case. My wife is a private investigator; let me get her take on this and see what advice she offers, if you're interested.

[Satellite]

Very true, but informing the police that you've done your due diligence and show them that he has priors will go a long way in your case. My wife is a private investigator; let me get her take on this and see what advice she offers, if you're interested.

Cosmonaut,

Srice did his due diligence when he managed to save his life and the rest of his party. It was a huge bonus he got the plate number recorded on his phone.

There are two sides to every story; what if this guy makes up that Srice is stocking him or something. Then jury is sympathetic to this person and lets him go. You don't believe me Jury Nullification happens across the country every day. It is just plain stupid for him to go down this path. He needs to let the police do their job.

If he wants to push someone, push the police. Beside when the police pull up peoples DMV records they already know your priors. From an outsider looking in Srice needs to go on with his life and let the police handle the investigation.

If Srice feels compelled to do something, he needs to get media exposure for some bicycle awareness. Tell your story call the papers or go thru your local bicycle club. Hunting the person down and identifying him will do nothing for you at this point. You will have your day in court.

I know it must seem like I am against Srice but quite the contrary. I have had similar things happen to me while riding. I have wanted to hunt the guy down a punch him in the face. Seriously let the police handle this, take solace in the fact you get to go home to your family. You are very lucky this could have ended much differently.

Satellite

[srice]

Cosmonaut,
<snip>
Hunting the person down and identifying him will do nothing for you at this point. You will have your day in court.
<snip>

Satellite

Believe me when I say that I have no desire to "hunt" this person down. I already know where he lives, what he looks like, what kind of car he drives and what kind of woman hangs out with him. If I wanted to "hunt him down", all I would have to do is hang out in a certain area and I would find him. I want to have as much information about him when I talk to the authorities. I have little to no confidence that anybody is as motivated as me to see this guy prosecuted. All I want is information. Perhaps I am being paranoid, but I believe the cops aren't going to push unless I push them. I was told that I would receive a call letting me know what happened - but that has yet to occur. I will start with the Bourbon County Sheriff in about 30 minutes. (Gotta to let them have their coffee and donuts - that does sound good right now)


Satellite, you are correct in that I did my due diligence in getting myself and the person riding with me out of harm's way. I was fortunate to capture the photo of the car. I wish I had a photo of the guy with the gun - but that would have been idiotic to attempt to get that picture. My first priority was to not get shot. I succeeded with that and now my next priority is to do everything I can to ensure prosecution.

I'll post more later with the results of round 1 with the Bourbon County Sheriff's office.

Steve

[SEABREEZE]

"He ended up stopping to yell at me at which point he pulled a gun and pointed it straight at me(I think a 9mm Glock)."

As someone else mentioned, this should be mentioned to authorites, if the weapon is registered to him, how would you know this.

If the gun was not registered, your back to he said , she said, unfortunately

You accuse, he denies.

From your second post you mentioned, you have another passenger that also witnessed everything, this may work in your favor in convincing authorities of your alligations... They will look into witnesses backround, to see if they are creditable.

Best of luck to you.

[ckamp]

What an awful event. I am also glad you are OK.

I am also glad you involved the police as much as you can!
Plus we now have the serotta detectives on the case as well.

[srice]

Latest update..... 2 calls to the Sheriff's department and they say, "We don't have any paperwork yet." Please try calling back tomorrow evening. Like I have said, I don't have a lot of faith in the police following through unless I push.

Steve

[Satellite]

Latest update..... 2 calls to the Sheriff's department and they say, "We don't have any paperwork yet." Please try calling back tomorrow evening. Like I have said, I don't have a lot of faith in the police following through unless I push.

Steve
Steve,

Call the local papers and ask them if they would like the details to build an article?

Satellite

[gdw]

Give the police some time to do their job. Criminals don't always choose to stay at home waiting for the authorities to visit. You have a picture and a witness to back your side. Backoff for a few days and let the authorities investigate and process the paperwork.

[srice]

That is exactly my plan. I intend to push gently at first. I am recording in painful detail every call I make - time, date, who I spoke to and what the outcome was. Last thing I want to do at this time is get the authorities angry with me - I know they carry guns!!!!

[SamIAm]

Know any local politicians?

[Dekonick]

Send an email and carbon copy to chief of police, county executive, local papers, advocacy groups, etc.

Attach a copy of your picture. Ask for confirmation that action has been taken. Do you know the police officer's names? Include descriptions of the perp, girlfriend, car, time of day (from camera?), etc. You can find out all about the incident by requesting the police report. Force their hand!

Good luck!

[srice]

Latest update.....

Last night I spoke to the deputy who responded to the call. The found the "kid" (I believe he is in his 20's) not long after they left me. The kid's story matched mine with 1 exception - he claims to have never pointed the gun at me. I have a witness who says he did - so that part will be a "he said - she said". Everything else in the two stories received by the cop match.

Here is the interesting part - it turns out that the cop found the weapon - and it was an air pistol. Extremely realistic looking - to the point that the deputy said that he would have shot him if he had produced that weapon during a traffic stop.

I have the information I need and tomorrow I am off to the courthouse to push this as far as I can.


Steve

[Louis]

The fact that they found a gun means that either a) you just got lucky when you accused him of pointing a gun, or b) you have ESP, or c) he really was brandishing the weapon. Sounds like an open and shut case to me.

[gemship]

The fact that they found a gun means that either a) you just got lucky when you accused him of pointing a gun, or b) you have ESP, or c) he really was brandishing the weapon. Sounds like an open and shut case to me.


of course there is option d) the OP told us the truth.... no c'mon say what?

I also think with a corroborating witness to the event the OP will have some leverage toward his version of the story.

Good for you Srice. That's sticking to your guns(pun intended). Gotta luv the peanut gallery round' here.

[Louis]

of course there is option d) the OP told us the truth....

I think that was my option (c).

[gemship]

I think that was my option (c).


Oh sorry I misunderstood what you wrote. Yes we're in agreement open and shut case. I really tried to stay away from this thread... it's sort of negative. Felt bad for Srice, seems like he had to try a little too hard to justify himself here. In the end, who cares?

Actually I think there is some serious consequences for brandishing even a water pistol but on the other hand does anybody really want to be that guy who floors some punk kid for doing something silly and menacing? I think just being interviewed by the police may be instilling enough fear into the kid. Either way if it doesn't the kid may always be a punk.

[drewski]

Latest update.....

Last night I spoke to the deputy who responded to the call. The found the "kid" (I believe he is in his 20's) not long after they left me. The kid's story matched mine with 1 exception - he claims to have never pointed the gun at me. I have a witness who says he did - so that part will be a "he said - she said". Everything else in the two stories received by the cop match.

Here is the interesting part - it turns out that the cop found the weapon - and it was an air pistol. Extremely realistic looking - to the point that the deputy said that he would have shot him if he had produced that weapon during a traffic stop.

I have the information I need and tomorrow I am off to the courthouse to push this as far as I can.


Steve


That's really great news.


I get fired up when I hear about cyclists getting victimized. Thanks
for sharing the details. Good luck.

[srice]

The fact that they found a gun means that either a) you just got lucky when you accused him of pointing a gun, or b) you have ESP, or c) he really was brandishing the weapon. Sounds like an open and shut case to me.

There was no dispute by the "kid" that he brandished the weapon. He only disputed POINTING it at me. He admitted to holding the weapon by the grip (i.e. in a useful manner) but denied ever pointing the business end in my direction.

[Louis]

There was no dispute by the "kid" that he brandished the weapon. He only disputed POINTING it at me. He admitted to holding the weapon by the grip (i.e. in a useful manner) but denied ever pointing the business end in my direction.

Oh, in that case how could anyone feel threatened? Waving a gun around during a confrontation? No problem, around here we that all the time...

[Ozz]

Oh, in that case how could anyone feel threatened? Waving a gun around during a confrontation? No problem, around here we that all the time...
Same around here.... :rolleyes:

Lake Sammamish State Park Shootings (http://dailypostal.com/2010/07/18/lake-sammamish-state-park-shooting/)

FWIW - this park is about as suburbia as you can get 'round here. :crap:

[djg21]

Believe me, I have no desire to ever see this guy again except for in a court. Vigilante has nothing to do with why I would like to know who it is. I want to dig up any information I can so that I can be as informed as possible when I speak to the authorities.

I would suggest that you not do any "research."

If you do, a defense attorney for the perpetrator could argue that you were stalking his client, are participating in a vendetta, and have exaggerated your story to justifyfalse charges you leveled against him (after you precipitated the incident on the road which led to a verbal (only) altercation with his client).

Why take this chance? Report the incident to the police, and let the police do their job.

[BengeBoy]

Same around here.... :rolleyes:

Lake Sammamish State Park Shootings (http://dailypostal.com/2010/07/18/lake-sammamish-state-park-shooting/)

FWIW - this park is about as suburbia as you can get 'round here. :crap:


Stop there regularly to refill my water bottles when rounding Lake Sammamish.

[John M]

Agree to let the police work this through. They have the information they need now. Periodic follow-up is appropriate. We had an issue with some drug dealers in our neighborhood a few years ago. I reported detailed descriptions of the truck, license #, physical description, etc... and it appeared to be blown off by the police, but several weeks later the police neighborhood liaison reported that the offender had been arrested and charged. The narc guys needed some time to get their info and the liaison told us later that they do not provide ongoing communications with the public but provide information when the case is resolved.