MEAD, Colo. — A man faces a charge of attempted first-degree murder after he fired a gun at another vehicle during a road rage incident on northbound Interstate 25 near Mead, according to an affidavit for his arrest from the Mead Police Department.
Wyatt Reed, 24, was arrested during a traffic stop not long after shots were fired Monday night in Mead. According to court documents, the victim reported that he was driving on the highway just before 10 p.m. when shots were fired at his vehicle from a truck.
He told dispatchers that the suspect had just passed him and he agreed to meet Larimer County Sheriff's deputies at the 7-Eleven in Johnstown.
Based on the victim's description of the truck, deputies completed a traffic stop on Weld County Road 46 just west of I-25. Deputies said, according to the affidavit, that the driver, identified as Reed, smelled like alcohol. They also observed a pistol on the passenger seat that was within reach of the driver.
They noted empty Corona bottles in the back passenger area of the truck, as well as shell casings along the front passenger floorboard.
Reed agreed to speak with investigators and said he was "cruising" in the fast lane headed home from a shooting range in Broomfield when someone in a silver vehicle cut him off. Reed admitted to following the vehicle and said he "had intentions of intimidating the car." He said that he honked several times at the other driver and that the other driver "brake checked" him, the affidavit says.
Reed told investigators that he had fired his gun earlier in the day at the shooting range. He initially denied shooting his gun from inside the vehicle but later changed his story and said he had fired the weapon 10 to 12 times from inside his vehicle while at the range, according to the affidavit.
When an officer told Reed that another driver reported that he had fired at him, Reed denied that he shot at anyone on the road and said he "would never fire a gun out of his vehicle," the affidavit says.
Investigators who interviewed the victim said he appeared "extremely shaken." He reported that he was in the fast lane of the highway when a truck came up behind him and began tailgating him and flashing their high beams at him, the affidavit says.
He said he moved to the middle lane and then got back behind the suspect's vehicle after it passed him. He reported that the other driver "brake checked" him and then he drove past the suspect and made an obscene gesture, the affidavit says.
A few second later the victim reported that he heard "pop noises." He said the suspect's vehicle was slightly behind him and to his left when he heard the gunshots. He reported hearing two "strings" of gunshots of three to four shots each. The victim reported that he ducked down and reported that he was "scared and nervous."
According to the arrest affidavit, the victim's demeanor was "consistent" with someone who had just had a "near death" experience. The document also noted that the physical evidence indicated the gun was fired from inside Reed's truck.
Reed faces multiple charges, including attempted murder and felony menacing. He's due to be formally charged in Weld County District Court on Sept. 1.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Investigations & Crime