39-year-old man charged in Akron shooting despite claim of self-defense

AKRON, Ohio – Akron police have decided to charge a 39-year-old man in a road rage incident in Akron, despite claims of self-defense due to additional witness statements and evidence.

News 5 has new information about a incident on the road things turned violent in the area of ​​South Arlington and East Market Street.

This comes after Akron Police Capt. Michael Miller released 911 calls, including from the 39-year-old man involved.

“A man hit my car. He was in the bike lane and I wouldn’t let him in my lane. He hit my car and when I yelled at him, he pulled a gun on me and I shot back at him,” the 39-year-old suspect said.

Originally, Capt. Michael Miller said they listed the 39-year-old driver and the 78-year-old man, who suffered a gunshot wound to the face, as both victims and suspects.

But Miller said things changed after he said officers vetted the 39-year-old’s self-defense claim and then compared it to what witnesses said with additional physical and digital evidence and decided to charge him with assault.

“We were at a stop and I cussed him out and told him to stop and he pulled a gun on me,” the 39-year-old suspect said.

“They just didn’t believe, the detectives as a collective, that the statement or the self-defense component of it really had any merit,” Miller said.

According to preliminary reports, a minor crash involving two vehicles occurred on East Market Street when police said the victim’s vehicle sideswiped the other vehicle, leaving minor damage.

Authorities said the 39-year-old driver of the other vehicle allegedly fired multiple shots, with one hitting the victim and 911 callers assisted until crews arrived.

“He has a pink cloth around his face right now,” said a 911 caller.

After the shooting, police left the 39-year-old man.

That’s when the man finally called 911, and officers found him and took him into custody without further incident.

“We do not believe the victim did anything to cause the circumstance to happen to him. This really depends solely on the individual who decides to escalate something that was initially just a minor accident and chooses to use a firearm,” Miller said.

Miller said the 39-year-old man’s perspective at this point after the initial investigation is not for his department to determine.

As for the 78-year-old man, Miller said he is expected to survive.