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Michael Lawrence Hill, 34, was sentenced to 10 years in prison with all but eight suspended followed by five years of supervised probation after being found guilty at trial for an assault in February last year.
The reported incident happened on Feb. 23, 2023 near Main Street and Bond Street in Westminster when Hill became upset with his victim for driving past his SUV, which was double-parked.
According to the Carroll County State's Attorney's Office, on the day of the Hill's road-rage incident, a man and his wife drove by his SUV, prompting Hill to get into his vehicle, speed ahead of them, slam on his brakes, forcing his victim to stop his truck.
Hill then got out, officials said, spat in the driver's face, punched him, and then pulled him out of the vehicle, pummeled him in front of his wife, knocked him to the ground and began kicking him, getting back into his own SUV, and driving away.
The victim then proceeded to follow Hill while his wife called 911, which proved to be an ill-fated decision.
Before officers arrived at the scene to assist, Hill again slammed on his brakes, got out of his SUV, approached the victim’s truck, and threatened to stab him in the neck.
Responding investigators were able to quickly track down Hill's SUV using a description from the victim, and he was pulled over and found with blood on his clothing.
He also admitted to having a knife on him.
Judge Richard Titus said that he "was personally stunned by what is happening on the roads, and there was no explanation why Hill beat down the victim, whom he did not know, for no other reason than the victim passed (him)."
The judge went on to note that that Hill doubled down and threatened the victim with a weapon, adding that "when people take things into their own hands on the side of the road, the court system does not matter to those individuals and thus cannot act."
Carroll County State's Attorney Haven Shoemaker added that this was a prime example of vigilante justice when one should just report dangerous driving to the authorities.
"The stiff sentence handed out by Judge Titus should serve as a stern warning that acts of road rage will not be tolerated in Carroll County, and that folks who witness dangerous driving should not take matters into their own hands but report it to the police," he said.
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