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Harrison Police Chief John Vasta said that the incident began at approximately 4:50 p.m. on Wednesday, March 9 when a husband and wife reported that a vehicle was blocking theirs as they attempted to change lanes on Westchester Avenue near the Hutchinson River Parkway.
According to the victims, a blue BMW pulled alongside them and the driver cursed and yelled racist, derogatory remarks at them.
Vasta said that at the intersection of Purchase Street, the BMW proceeded to pull alongside the husband and wife again, this time with the driver pointing a loaded handgun at them before speeding off.
Harrison police investigators began an immediate canvas of the area in an attempt to locate the BMW, and it was determined that the alleged perpetrator was Jarrell Fortson, a King Street resident in Port Chester.
Plainclothes officers from the Harrison Police Department arrived at Fortson’s Port Chester home following the incident and he was taken into custody just as he was attempting to leave his driveway.
Vasta said that "the encounter was frightening for the victims and put the public at risk." He said that he "commends his officers for their swift work in identifying a suspect, locating him quickly, and recovering the weapon."
Fortson was apprehended without incident, and investigators seized the gun allegedly used during the road-rage incident on his person.
Fortson was charged with:
- Second-degree criminal possession of a weapon;
- Third-degree criminal possession of a weapon;
- Reckless endangerment;
- Menacing.
Fortson was arraigned on Thursday, March 10, and bail was set at $50,000 cash bail or $75,000 bond.
Vasta said that the case is still ongoing and remains under investigation.
The Chief noted that the incident with Fortson was the second time in as many weeks that Harrison police officers seized an illegal handgun from the streets in a similar incident.
On Monday, Feb. 21, officers arrested a Mount Vernon man and confiscated a stolen, fully loaded handgun after the man fled from a traffic stop on Westchester Avenue and rammed a patrol car in a further attempt to escape.
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