HIALEAH, FLA. (WSVN) - A man arrested in connection to a case of road rage in Hialeah, after a driver recorded him on dashcam getting out of his car on the highway with a gun in hand is now out on bond.
After he was charged Thursday and given a $10,000 bond, 39-year-old Maykel Escalona spent the night in jail.
He walked out of jail on Friday afternoon without comment.
The previous afternoon, 7News cameras captured officers frisking the suspect at Hialeah Police headquarters. Investigators identified him as 39-year old Maykel Escalona.
The other driver, who spoke with 7News by phone and asked to remain anonymous, said the angry, gun-wielding motorist confronted him in the middle of the Hialeah Expressway at around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
The victim said he was forced to stop in the middle of the street when Escalona, who was driving a dark colored Honda, put it in park and pulled out a weapon.
“I was shocked, and it took me a second to realize that he had the gun,” said the victim.
The driver said it all started when he pulled in front of the Honda from the rear.
Police said the driver inadvertently cut off Escalona as he reached Northwest 74th Street and made a right turn heading eastbound.
“This seemed to me to be an ordinary merge,” said the victim.
The video then shows the dark Honda turn right behind the victim.
Police said Escalona followed the victim into Hialeah.
Not long after, the Honda pulled in front of the victim, making sure he couldn’t pass, and eventually came to a stop near the 900 block of West 21st Street.
“I didn’t really realize what was going on at the minute,” said the victim. “I didn’t realize how upset he was.”
According to the victim, the man was upset and screaming in Spanish.
“Got out of the car with the gun and approached me menacingly,” said the victim, “and I was pretty much shocked. I didn’t know what was going on, and I’m looking at him, and he turned around and got back in the car and took off.”
That’s when he called 911 to alert police.
The dashcam video went viral, as police were on the lookout for the armed suspect.
A source close to the investigation said police contacted Escalona, and he was on his way to the police station at around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
At 6:39 p.m., the suspect was walked into the police department. When a 7News crew asked whether he was the man in the video, officers said, “No.”
Several hours later, police confirmed the arrest and identified the suspect.
Escalona faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The victim said he is happy with the quick work by police.
Escalona is due in court for his arraignment on Oct. 21.
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