Shaun Haleem Williams, 31, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to 11.5 to 23 months in prison for firing a handgun at another driver’s vehicle during a road rage incident along Route 309 in Upper Dublin Township in April 2024, the Pottstown Mercury reported.
After pleading guilty in January, Williams claimed during the trial that an unarmed man “flashed a derogatory hand gesture at him, waved what he said he believed was a gun at him and drove toward him, causing him to fear for his safety.”
“In my mind, I fired at the vehicle in order to protect myself. I fired a warning shot at the vehicle. I shot in the direction of the vehicle. I shot the warning shot at the vehicle, not actually at him, but at the vehicle. I do regret this ever happening,” Williams said.
He is eligible for a release program during the first three months of the sentence and then house arrest for the remaining minimum 8.5-month term, meaning he could be released to house arrest within days or weeks, The Mercury said.
Williams previously pleaded guilty to a felony charge of aggravated assault and is currently working as an assistant manager at a gym and for a moving company he owns.
The investigation began when Williams fired a handgun at another driver’s vehicle near Route 309’s I-276 exit ramp on the morning of April 5. The male victim, who was unharmed, told police he was traveling southbound in the left lane of Route 309 when he was “tailgated” by a driver who then changed lanes to the right and moved next to the victim’s truck, according to the arrest affidavit.
The driver, later identified as Williams, “brandished a black in color semiautomatic pistol out of the driver’s window and pointed it at the victim,” police alleged.
The victim said that he pulled into a parking lot just off Route 309 in Cheltenham Township after the shooting to wait for police to arrive. Officers noted a single bullet hole in the passenger side of the victim’s vehicle.
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