FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A 41-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after he pointed a gun at a driver on Interstate 95 in Broward County.
The incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. in the southbound lanes of the highway near Cypress Creek Road.
According to his arrest report, Sheldon Delano Ford, of Miramar, was driving a blue BMW sedan and pointed a gun at the driver of a blue Chevrolet pickup truck.
A Florida Highway Patrol trooper pulled over Ford and told him to step out of the vehicle with his hands up. Ford complied with the trooper’s orders, his arrest report stated.
According to the report, the driver of the pickup truck, who is a retired Army Ranger, and his wife, who was sitting in the passenger seat, told troopers that Ford had gotten behind their vehicle and was honking his horn.
They said he then pulled up alongside the pickup truck and pointed a handgun with a silver barrel at the driver.
“The individual pulled up next to me in the left hand lane and, (at) this point, he’s flipping me off,” the driver, who did not want to be identified, told Local 10 News. “I looked back over and see he was pointing a 40-caliber handgun at me and my wife.”
The couple called 911 and followed Ford for several exits.
“It felt like an hour, but it was about 25 minutes,” the victim said.
Troopers eventually tracked down Ford and pulled him over.
“The guy driving didn’t pull over right away,” the victim said. “He was doing 20-30 miles an hour in the right-hand lane, so I was afraid he was loading up or trying to hide something and it ultimately wouldn’t be good.”
Troopers said Ford claimed that the victim had cut him off and that he stuck his middle finger up at the victim and continued driving.
Authorities said he admitted to having a firearm in the glove compartment.
Once the firearm was retrieved by troopers, they saw that it was a silver .40-caliber Smith and Wesson, which matched the description given by the victims.
“I spent quite a few years overseas fighting for my country, and now at home I have to worry about my own safety on the roads of South Florida, plus the safety of my wife,” the victim said.
Ford was arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and improper exhibition of a firearm.