An Ocala man was arrested last week after a road rage incident that started in a McDonald’s parking lot and ended several miles away with him allegedly breaking a car window with a machete.
Shayn Kenneth Scott, 29, of 6711 SW 60th Ave., was charged Jan. 21 with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and criminal mischief with property damage between $200 and $1,000.
The male victim and a female witness who was in his vehicle told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy they were in the parking lot of McDonald’s, located at 2095 SW County Road 484, when they got into a verbal argument with Scott, who was mad because the victim’s truck was blocking part of the drive-through lane. The victim and Scott argued outside their vehicles before the victim got back into his truck and headed eastbound on CR 484, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The victim said he was driving when he noticed Scott was following him. He said Scott cut him off while cursing at him and showing his middle finger in an explicit manner. Scott then got in front of the victim in the left-turn lane at a red light at the intersection of SW CR 484 and SW 16th Avenue. The victim said he got out of the vehicle and started to verbally argue with Scott, the report said.
The victim said as he returned to his vehicle, Scott got out of his with a black machete in a black sheath and swung it at the front driver’s side window, causing it to crack and send glass shards into the vehicle. The victim said Scott told him, “I am going to kill you,” when he swung the machete, according to the report.
The victim said Scott got back into his vehicle and went north on SW 16th Avenue. The deputy observed the front driver’s side window was shattered and held in place by the window tint film, which had a vertical linear slash. The bottom of the window had a slice mark and there were glass shards throughout the front of the vehicle, the report said.
The witness who was in the vehicle with the victim said she told Scott to leave them alone, and then Scott then started directing the verbal arguments at her. The witness then took a photo of Scott’s license plate, which was used to identify him and get his address. Two other witnesses said they saw the incident at the stop light and their accounts were similar to the victim’s, according to the report.
Deputies unsuccessfully tried to find Scott and his residence. Later in the evening, Scott called to explain himself and give his side of the story. He said the victim got out of the vehicle and punched him several times. Scott said he struck the victim’s window with a baseball bat and never had a machete in the car, the report said.
Scott was taken from his residence to the Marion County Jail, where he admitted to the deputy that does carry a black machete in a sheath in his vehicle but said he didn’t use it during the incident. Scott was released the next day on $3,000 bond. No court information was available.