Road Rage Incident In Manchester Leads To Shooting On Granite Street

MANCHESTER, NH — A shooting on Manchester’s West Dide Monday appears to have been spurred by a road rage incident in the area of Granite and Second streets.

Police responded to the area of Granite and Bar streets for a report of a shooting. When they arrived, they found a truck with damage from a firearm.

Luis Rodriguez of Orlando, Florida, or Lawrence, Massachusetts, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with reckless conduct with a firearm.

The city of Manchester's human resource director verified Rodriguez had been employed as a part-time refuse collector beginning on Jan. 9, but is no longer employed by the city.

Rodriguez was arraigned in Hillsborough County Superior Court on Thursday, where he entered a plea of not guilty, and bail was set at $1,000 cash by Judge Steven Houran.

An affidavit outlined the investigation and what allegedly led up to the shooting of the truck.

The victim stated his Chevrolet pickup truck was shot once while he was sitting in the driver’s seat. Officers discovered a spent .40 caliber casing on Granite Street, a short distance from the truck. The bullet struck the truck's headlight.

The victim told police he was at the intersection of Granite and Second streets when a “Spanish-looking female, operating an older maroon minivan, cut him off in traffic, and he honked his horn.”

This, according to the court document, set off a road rage incident between them. Both drivers continued traveling west on Granite Street and then the minivan pulled onto the side of Smokers Haven and the victim continued westbound on Granite Street. He drove by a silver sedan on Dover Street and then went around the block and backed into his driveway. The silver sedan stopped on Granite Street directly in front of his truck while he was still sitting in his driver’s seat.

The victim told police the driver’s window of the silver sedan was rolled down and the operator brandished a gun, which he described as a matte silver and black handgun. The victim told police he placed his hands up in the air and was trying to use his body language to show that he was unarmed and not to shoot.

According to court paperwork, the operator of the silver sedan then shot a round off at him while he was sitting in his truck, which ultimately hit the driver-side headlight. The bullet, however, did not hit the victim or make it past the engine.

The vehicle drove off, traveling west on Granite Street. He followed the sedan to get a license plate and lost sight at Winter and Parker streets. He described the operator of the Mercedes Benz sedan as a Spanish man, approximately 20 to 30 years old, with no facial hair, and wearing a red flat-brimmed hat. The victim believed the registration was out of Florida and was described as white and orange.

Investigators located surveillance cameras and were able to view video footage of the incident. The descriptions matched what the victim told police. Investigators also noticed the suspect was wearing a yellow reflective work jacket.

A detective remembered seeing a car matching that description and the Florida plates parked near the city gas pumps on Lincoln Street near the department of public works the prior week.

Police issued a press release Wednesday with the suspect's description and photographs of the suspect vehicle.

At around 12:30 p.m., Rodriguez reported to police that he was responsible for the shooting on Granite Street and wanted to turn himself in, according to court documents. He arrived at the police station with his girlfriend — who was driving a maroon minivan.

Rodriguez told detectives they were looking for his car but he did not want to make any statements even though his car was all over the news, according to an affidavit.

Court paperwork stated, “Due to his previous statements to both PSS Martin and myself, I then read him his Miranda Rights. Rodriguez was deciding if he wanted to waive his rights or not. He then, without being prompted, stated that there are three sides to every story and that there are cameras all over the city. He went on to say that the other driver involved put his child's life in danger and that he fired a warning shot. At this point, I told him that we cannot say anything to him unless he decides to waive his rights. He then chose not to and signed the form accordingly.”

Officers checked Rodriguez's girlfriend's address in Manchester as well as his Lawrence, MA, address listed on his driver's license but could not locate his vehicle. Furthermore, he did not drive it when he came to police headquarters, police said.

Rodriguez was arrested and charged with one count of reckless conduct for the shooting and two counts of falsifying physical evidence for hiding the car and firearm used, all felonies.

At approximately 6:15 p.m., while in booking, Rodriguez told the booking officer he wanted to speak with detectives again. Detectives went to the booking and spoke with him. The affidavit said Rodriguez stated the victim had crashed into his girlfriend's vehicle multiple times in the area of Granite and Main streets. He stated they pulled over, and he got out of his car to confront the victim when the victim, and then sped past him.

Rodriguez stated he got back into his car and followed the victim, the report said. Rodriguez stated while following the victim, he loaded his pistol, which was in his center console. He stated the victim circled the block and then quickly backed into a driveway. Rodriguez stated he then "pinned" the victim in and began yelling at him, detectives wrote. Rodriguez stated the victim then began moving his truck so Rodriguez fired a "warning shot" into the truck before taking off, according to the affidavit.

When asked why he did not call the police afterward he said, “why would you call the police right after committing a crime? I asked where the car was and he stated he parked it at his mother's place in Lawrence, MA, but would not provide the address."

Detectives asked Rodriguez where the firearm was he stated, “he knew where it was but would not tell us, because he did not want us to seize it," the report said.

©Jeffrey Hastings www.frameofmindphoto.com/news