ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A road rage incident caught on camera by the victim. He was heading to work when a man cut him off and then shot his SUV right in front of a state trooper.
Paul Marquez told police why he shot at another car on Paseo del Norte earlier this month. “I was going to work and this dude, who I was in an altercation with, cut me off and almost came close to hitting me,” said Marquez in a newly-released lapel video. “It escalated from there.”
But the victim told a different story. “It’s stupid because I was getting off at Paseo. You know, the lane was ending so I got in front of the guy. I don’t know if he got upset because he didn’t want to let anyone in,” the victims said.
The victim also had a dash camera to back up his claim. He told police after merging onto Paseo, Marquez got aggressive.
“When I was in his lane, that’s when he got real close behind me and looked like he was going to ram me from the back. After that, he turned left into the first lane towards the north, pulled up beside me and he rolled down his window and that’s when he flashed me his firearm,” said the victim.
Marquez admitted to pointing his gun at the man’s vehicle. “He was next to me and then whenever he pulled up after he cut me off. I got next to him and that’s when I pulled up and that’s when I showed him,” Marquez said.
It didn’t stop there. “He kind of sped up, got in front of me, kind of cut me off. Slammed on his brakes a little bit,” Marquez continued.
The victim noticed state police up ahead. “That guy pulled up to the right side of me. He didn’t realize that there was a state trooper that I was trying to wave down and from there that’s when he fired three shots,” he said.
The officer pulled over Marquez and took him into custody. He’s facing two aggravated assault charges for both the victim and the state police officer, as well as shooting from his SUV.
Marquez was previously charged with aggravated assault for another incident in January. He was arrested by Rio Rancho police after threatening a man with a knife but that charge was dismissed.
