Pass Christian man who shot at teens, police in road rage incident convicted again

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) – On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled in the appeal of Pass Christian man Rudy Desmond Toler, who was convicted in 2023 of shooting at a car full of teenagers and police officers during a road rage incident.

In 2021, Toler fired a gun at four minors while driving on Highway 90 between Pass Christian and Gulfport. After the shooting, he led police on a high-speed chase, firing two more shots.

ORIGINAL STORY: Pass Christian man convicted of shooting at car full of teenagers, police officers in road rage incident

A Harrison County grand jury indicted Toler on ten felony counts:

4 cases of aggravated assault
1 count of shooting into a motor vehicle
Four charges of aggravated assault against a police officer
1 count of failure to stop a motor vehicle

In 2023, a jury found Toler guilty of all charges except one count of assaulting an officer.

Toler’s party subsequently appealed, stating:

there was not enough evidence to convict him of the other three charges of assaulting a police officer
there was not enough evidence to convict him of more than one charge of aggravated assault against the minors
the court abused its discretion by “excluding evidence of Toler’s peaceful character.”

During Thursday’s hearing, the court contradicted Toler’s initial claim, stating that there was sufficient evidence to declare that he intended to cause serious harm to both police officers and minors.

However, the case will be sent back to the court with instructions to combine the four charges of assault against the minors into a single conviction. He will be convicted on the single count.

The court also agreed with the trial court’s decision not to allow evidence of Toler’s “peaceful nature” as he admitted possessing, displaying and shooting a gun at a vehicle on at least three occasions.

Click HERE to read the full court ruling.

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