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Driver charged in I-95 shooting

Man's arrest follows pellet-gun incident

By KEITH EPPS

Date published: 5/4/2004

By KEITH EPPS

An 18-year-old Northern Virginia man has been charged with firing what turned out to be a pellet gun at another motorist during a traffic altercation on Interstate 95.

The shots missed the driver but struck his vehicle several times, state police spokesman Sgt. Gary Settle said.

After the Saturday shooting, the victim followed the suspect from the 134.3-mile marker on Interstate 95 in Stafford County to Central Park in Fredericksburg, where he obtained license plate and other information, Settle said.

Trooper J.G. Armstrong then tracked the suspect vehicle to Ashbourn Drive in Fairfax County's Burke area, Settle said, where Jonathan J. Kasper was arrested.

Kasper was charged with two felonies--shooting at an occupied vehicle and using a firearm in the commission of a felony--and misdemeanor charges of brandishing a firearm, reckless handling of a firearm and reckless driving.

Settle said state police don't normally advise victims of gunfire to give pursuit, but in this case the victim's actions were instrumental in Kasper's arrest.

"He was certainly taking a chance, but in this case it really paid off," Settle said. "He certainly went beyond the norm."

According to police, the victim was heading south on the interstate in his 1998 Jeep Cherokee about 1:45 a.m. A new black, four-door sedan pulled up beside him.

Settle said the two vehicles had just been in some sort of altercation involving high speeds and following too closely.

The driver pointed a handgun with a laser light at the victim, police said. The victim, who thought it was a real gun, heard something strike his vehicle.

Settle said the victim called police on his cell phone, and Trooper Armstrong was at the scene within five minutes.

Meanwhile, the victim followed the other vehicle off the interstate and into Central Park while maintaining contact with a police dispatcher.

Settle said the victim kept his distance from the other driver, who at one point got out of his vehicle and attempted another confrontation.

The man then got back into his car and drove to another business parking lot, where he dumped the gun and a knife. He was then seen exiting Central Park.

Armstrong went to Central Park and retrieved the knife and the gun, a pellet pistol with a laser-equipped sight. He also interviewed the victim and got the license-plate number he had written down.

Police then went to Northern Virginia, where they found Kasper and his vehicle.

To reach KEITH EPPS: 540/374-5404 kepps@freelancestar.com

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Date published: 5/4/2004