ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The19-year-old suspect charged in connection with several violent road rage incidents in Orange County was released from jail overnight Monday after posting bond, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies arrested Emanuel Dandre Bullard Sunday after the sheriff’s office said it received four reports of road rage incidents since Dec. 27.
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Authorities said they were looking for a black Mercedes, possibly a 2014 C250, that may have had an international-style vanity plate attached to the front.
The first incident was reported on Dec. 27 near State Road 417 and Curry Ford Road when a victim said she moved her car to avoid a rear-end crash when a black car sped up behind her car. According to an affidavit, the victim said the suspect’s vehicle pulled in front of hers and a man pointed a gun outside the passenger window and shot four times. The victim swerved to the side of the road and called law enforcement.
In a shooting that happened Jan. 21 in the area of northbound Goldenrod Road and East Colonial Drive, a deputy heard 10 gunshots and was flagged down by a victim, according to the sheriff’s office. According to an affidavit, the victim in this incident said the Mercedes was speeding and came up behind their car. The victim said they gave the vehicle a “brake check” when the Mercedes sped up next to the car and they argued before shots were fired, the affidavit shows.
The third shooting happened on near State Road 408 and Crystal Lake when a victim said they almost struck another vehicle, a black Mercedes, and the driver then began yelling at the victim, an affidavit says. The victim attempted to pass the vehicle when the driver shot at the victim, striking the car six times.
In the fourth incident, the suspect not only hit a second, unrelated, vehicle but also the outside of a gas station when the black Mercedes followed a pick-up truck into a parking lot. An affidavit says the suspect shot at the truck several times and hit another vehicle. The second vehicle turned into the gas station to confront the driver when the suspect shot at them multiple times, according to the report.
“He is a menace and needs to be stopped,” the sheriff’s office said on Twitter when they shared new video showing the road rage shootings.
According to an arrest affidavit, deputies located the suspected vehicle on Bonneville Drive following an anonymous tip. The sheriff’s office said they were able to secure a search warrant of the home where the car was found and during the execution of the warrant, Bullard ran into the woods behind the residence, according to the report.
Deputies said he eventually surrendered and during an interview conducted while he was in the patrol car, Bullard said he shot at a vehicle that “almost struck him.”
“Emanuel was able to provide descriptive details of the incident, which only the persons involved would know,” the report says.
Bullard faces charges of aggravated assault with a firearm and shooting into an occupied vehicle.
Bullard made his first appearance in court Monday where a judge set bond for $3,550.