MARION COUNTY, FL (352today.com) – The Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) arrested a Virginia truck driver in a road rage incident in which they say he fired shots at another truck driver on Interstate 75.
MCSO says on Wednesday, March 6, they arrested 43-year-old Dylan Nissan Belleastin largely based in evidence from an in-cab video recording provided by his employer.
What happened
Deputies say on Sunday, March 3, a semi-truck driver contacted them from the Love’s Travel Stop located at 7791 NW 47th Ave. in Ocala stating that a trucker shot at him while was driving southbound on I-75.
The victim told deputies the driver, who was later identified as Belleastin, threw a water bottle at his truck. Authorities say the victim pulled over to confront the driver but when he pulled up behind him, he decided to just drive away instead.
MCSO says the victim said the driver continued to follow him and eventually pulled alongside him, firing several shots. According to an incident report, the victim slammed on his brakes to avoid being shot, and then returned fire out of fear for his own life.
Afterwards, deputies say the victim followed the driver as he pulled off the interstate and into the Love’s Travel Stop in order to get information to help identify him. They say the driver eventually left, heading south on I-75.
After further investigation, deputies say they identified the driver as Belleastin and gained video footage from the in-cab camera which they say clearly shows him shooting at the victim two separate times.
The sheriff’s office says Belleastin retrieved a second handgun and pointed it at the victim while they were driving but did not fire it.
Deputies examined the victim’s rig and say multiple rounds hit it, damaging a mirror, shattering the passenger window, damaging the driver’s side windshield and hitting the side of the truck three times.
Deputies and agents from the United States Marshal Service located and arrested Belleastin on March 6 at 655 SW 52nd Avenue in Ocala.
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They charged him with shooting a missile into a vehicle, aggravated assault, criminal mischief, and displaying a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Belleastin who is from Chesapeake, Virginia, is being held at the Marion County Jail without a bond.
