Man Accused Of Brandishing Firearm In Waterbury Commuter Lot: State PD

WATERBURY, CT — A Southington man accused of brandishing a firearm in an Interstate 84 commuter parking lot in Waterbury was arrested Tuesday, according to state police.

In a news release, state police said troopers assigned to Troop A – Southbury were called to the Exit 23 commuter lot around 6:30 a.m. after receiving a report of an incident involving a man with a firearm.

Troopers arrived in the area and met with two people who said a man brandished a firearm in the commuter lot after a road rage incident.

One person told troopers they were waiting for another person in the commuter lot. When the other person entered the lot in their pickup truck, a black Mercedes E550 with a Connecticut registration plate drove into the lot immediately behind them, according to state police.

A man then exited the Mercedes and began yelling at the driver of the truck, claiming they had passed his companion's vehicle in an unsafe manner and almost caused a collision, state police said.

The driver of the pickup truck told troopers the Mercedes had cut their vehicle off in the area of Union and Hamilton avenues prior to entering the lot, forcing the driver to come to a stop to avoid a collision, according to state police.

The pickup truck driver also told troopers the driver of the Mercedes began yelling and gesturing for them to drive into the commuter lot.

Both people reporting the incident told troopers the driver of the Mercedes continued to yell during their interactions, then pulled a silver handgun out of his coat pocket and pointed it to the ground, causing them to fear for their safety, state police said.

When they told the Mercedes driver they were contacting police, he put the handgun back into his pocket, reentered the car and drove out of the parking lot, according to state police.

They also provided photos of the man, the Mercedes and its registration plate to investigating troopers, who later identified the man as Gentjan Korcari, 46, of Southington, according to state police.

Troopers tried to contact Korcari in Waterbury but were unable to locate him. They later spoke with him over the phone, and he agreed to meet with troopers at the Exit 26 commuter parking lot in Cheshire, state police said.

Korcari arrived at the commuter lot driving a white Chevrolet pickup truck and told troopers he and a companion were traveling in separate vehicles on Hamilton Avenue and both vehicles were in the center lane.

Korcari said a pickup truck was in the left lane to turn left. When the traffic signal turned green, however, the pickup truck drove straight ahead instead of turning left and nearly struck his companion's car, as well as allegedly striking his Mercedes, according to state police.

Korcari also said he told the driver of the truck to pull into the commuter parking lot, after which several people approached his car, one of which was yelling at him, according to state police.

Korcari told troopers he felt threatened and pulled his handgun from his jacket pocket to display it but did not completely remove it from his pocket. He described his handgun as silver in color, state police said.

During their investigation, troopers determined Korcari no longer had the firearm on him or inside his vehicle because he brought it back home after the incident at the commuter lot, according to state police.

Based on their investigation and Korcari's acknowledgement that he had displayed a firearm, Korcari was arrested on charges of first-degree threatening with a firearm and second-degree breach of peace. The firearm was also seized as evidence, state police said.

Korcari was released on a $40,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court later this month, according to state police.