JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – A reported road rage incident has landed a Jacksonville attorney in jail.
Attorney Luis Montiel is accused of pointing a gun at the victim in this case.
Montiel was released hours after his arrest but did not want to comment to News4JAX.
Montiel has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon, driving under the influence, following too close behind another car and improper exhibition of a firearm.
Montiel, a private attorney who has been practicing for 10 years, denies pointing the gun at the victim and said he wasn’t angry toward anyone.
Montiel represents clients in traffic citations, domestic violence, drug cases and more, but News4JAX was told he won’t be representing himself following his arrest on in the early morning hours of May 1.
Police got a call about a possible road rage incident involving a gun on Jacksonville Beach.
The victim said they were driving north on 3rd Street when a black truck almost side-swiped their car. Montiel was the driver. He told police Montiel sped up behind his car and believed he was going to be rear-ended. The victim said he then looked in his rearview mirror and saw Montiel pointing a gun at him.
He pulled into a store parking lot and then watched the black pickup truck make a U-turn. He started following Montiel and then called the police.
Once Montiel was pulled over Jacksonville Beach Police spoke to the passenger in his car. She told police they had just left a bar and at some point, Montiel got angry and grabbed his gun.
According to police, she questioned Montiel saying, “What the (expletive)? Why do you have a gun?”
She admitted Montiel was holding the gun while driving but she couldn’t remember why he was angry or if he was angry toward anyone else.
When police questioned Montiel he denied pointing the gun and being angry toward anyone.
He also told police he didn’t know why he was being pulled over.
Police found his receipt from the bar, his concealed carry permit and the gun.
Eventually, he was given a breathalyzer test where he tested at .089.
News4JAX called the victim in the case but they declined to comment.
Montiel’s next court date is May 23.