WENATCHEE, Wash. — A road rage incident in Wenatchee on Easter escalated to a threat with a handgun between two moving vehicles.
Shortly before 10 a.m., two brothers and other family members were headed southbound on North Wenatchee Avenue in a Jeep and a single-cab pickup.
When the vehicles approached the intersection of Duncan Road, a blue SUV in the turn lane suddenly cut into traffic between the Jeep and the pickup that were driving together.
Police said the driver of the blue SUV then gave “the finger” to the driver of the pickup, and driver of the pickup returned the gesture.
The driver of the SUV, 73-year-old Jerry A. Weaver of Wenatchee, then gestured for the pickup to pull over, but the driver of the pickup declined. That’s when Weaver pulled up next to the pickup and pointed a small black handgun at the three occupants, according to Wenatchee police.
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The driver of the Jeep, who was in front of the SUV and pickup, said he could see a black object being pointed at his family members in the rearview mirror.
When the vehicles separated at Wenatchee Avenue and North Miller Streets, a passenger in the pickup called 911 to report the incident and provided the license plate number of the SUV. They also provided a detailed description of the suspect that later led to his identification.
Responding officers eventually found Weaver and his vehicle, a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer, at O'Reilly's Auto Parts in the 1000 block of North Chelan Avenue.
When interviewed, Weaver was unarmed and told officers he had not pointed a firearm at anyone but admitted to trying to get the pickup to pull over so he could engage in a fight.
Weaver's SUV was seized pending a search warrant and he was booked into Chelan County Regional Justice Center for possible charges on three counts of first-degree assault.
Police said that in the afternoon, a family member called police to report Weaver had called them to come to O'Reilly's, where he gave them a plastic bag to take home.
Officers came to Weaver's home, where they recovered a plastic bag containing two small, black semiautomatic handguns -- a .380 caliber Smith and Wesson and a .22 caliber
Beretta. Both were loaded and had a round in the chamber.