PORT ANGELES — Road-rage led to the incarceration of a 67-year-old man on a weapons-related gross misdemeanor charge Friday afternoon after his first appearance in Clallam County District Court, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Authorities said the confrontation began early Thursday afternoon when a man and woman traded obscene gestures while driving their vehicles east of Port Angeles and ended with Clinton Roy Caldwell of Sequim intimidating the woman and her husband with a handgun.
Bail of $5,000 was set for Caldwell, who was charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon capable of causing bodily harm, a gross misdemeanor.
“You never know how these road rage incidents are going to end up,” Sheriff’s Chief Criminal Deputy Brian King said Friday.
The couple were driving on U.S. Highway 101 past Deer Park Road when the woman, who was driving, passed a GMC truck driven by Caldwell, who made an obscene gesture while both were traveling eastbound, according to the arrest report-probable cause statement. The woman returned it, according to the report.
“She flipped the male off, and the male began to tailgate her vehicle,” the report said.
He followed her to where she stopped off Highway 101 and stopped his vehicle behind hers.
When the couple walked toward the driver, he raised a handgun and began yelling at them about her driving.
“He basically put [the handgun] up head-high, kind of sideways as they were having a conversation near the driver’s door and basically said, ‘You need to show me some respect,’ ” King said.
“When you brandish the gun and intimidate someone, that’s a crime.”
Caldwell, who left after the couple told him they were calling law enforcement, was arrested at his Sequim-area Bogey Lane residence without incident after his license plate was traced from cellphone photos taken by the woman.
Caldwell told authorities he raised his gun and thought the man “put a revolver in his back pocket,” according to the probable cause statement. The couple denied owning firearms.
Authorities, executing a search warrant at Caldwell’s home, seized the unregistered, black Remington 9-mm semiautomatic handgun that Caldwell allegedly wielded during the incident and that was unregistered, King said.
The Remington was loaded, as were two shotguns and a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol that were seized at the residence and were unregistered. Caldwell has a concealed-carry permit, King said.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.