19-Year-Old Texas Driver With Road Rage History Goes Free After Another Armed Stunt
If the frequency of road rage on American roads wasn’t disturbing enough, violent instances are on the rise. In this case, a driver barely old enough to be considered an adult bullied another motorist in a dangerous, harrowing maneuver. If that wasn’t enough, the 19-year-old driver was reportedly armed and had a history of frenzied road rage.
A young Texas driver is in hot water for road rage behind the wheel of a large SUV– and it’s not the first time
Let’s face it. A, short of professional racing drivers, a 19-year-old isn’t likely to be a good driver. After all, at 19, a motorist doesn’t have much experience. Which makes it even wilder that a driver so young would already have a violent history of road rage.
The young driver, Julio Camarena, bullied fellow Houston, Texas, motorist Connor Gibbs. But this wasn’t a mere case of tailgating or lewd gesturing. According to a dash cam video and Gibbs’ account of the event, Camarena stopped his GMC SUV in the middle of the Texas highway in an attempt to block traffic.
Then, when Gibbs tried to get around him, Camarena reportedly tailgated him to “within three feet,” flashing his lights as he did. The road rage driver then chased Gibbs down onto a feeder road, across a grassy divider, and through a U-turn.
Mercifully, Gibbs was able to escape to a gas station with a police presence. However, the frightened driver recounted that he had seen Camarena get out of his SUV at one point. Worse yet, Camarena was allegedly brandishing a handgun at the time.
Police arrested Camarena, though this is far from the first time. Just three months ago, the 19-year-old “pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.” Like that case, Camarena left jail on bond.
While a 19-year-old can own a gun in Texas, there are stipulations. For starters, a buyer can’t purchase a handgun, like the weapon Gibbs saw in Camarena’s hand, from a licensed dealer if they’re under the age of 21, per the Giffords Law Center.
Of course, Texas does permit residents to buy handguns in private sales, free of a dealer or an agency with a Federal Firearms License (FFL). However, Camarena pleaded guilty to a felony assault charge earlier this year. Felons are prohibited from owning firearms under federal law.
