A 45-year-old Oakdale man, Ronald Owen Choat, was arrested Wednesday morning following an alleged road rage incident involving shooting a gun at an Oakdale area business.
According to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, the incident began when Choat allegedly passed a Morgan County Schools bus on a double yellow line in a school zone near Oakdale School. Later, as the suspect neared Oakdale, he passed another vehicle on a double yellow line and nearly hit a vehicle in the other lane.
Choat’s vehicle, a white Chevy Blazer, then stopped at TJ’s Fuel in Oakdale where a verbal argument between Choat and those involved in the passing incident. Choat allegedly fired a gun into the air four times with one of the shell casings landing on a teenager and burning his shirt.
Choat’s vehicle sped away and would again pass a bus on a double yellow line in the Bitter Creek area of Morgan County.
Choat’s vehicle was eventually spotted in Wartburg and was boxed-in by law enforcement officers, including Morgan County Sheriff Rick Hamby.
Choat was taken into custody and after an investigation revealed he was a convicted felon out of Georgia, he faces several charges including unlawful carrying of a weapon (felon with a firearm), aggravated assault, reckless endangerment with a firearm, and reckless driving.
“I am thankful for the quick response of Deputy Newton and others on shift,” Sheriff Hamby said in a statement. “We were able to have a peaceful end to what could have been a bad situation.
“Special thanks to Corporal Martin who was able to locate the defendant’s vehicle right here in Wartburg a short time after the shooting occurred in Oakdale.”