Man charged with four felonies in Mexico road rage incident

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Audrain County man was charged Friday with four felonies after he allegedly fired a shot at a vehicle along Highway 54.

Jessie L. Deere of Martinsburg, Missouri, is charged with two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and first-degree harassment.

Deere is accused of firing a .38-caliber handgun at another driver as a "warning shot" in a road-rage incident Thursday morning, according to a probable cause statement. Deere and the victim were at the Clark Street and Highway 54 intersection when the shot was fired, the statement says.

The victim told police that he and Deere were driving north on Highway 54 when he tried to pass Deere, the statement says. Deere allegedly sped up, used an offensive hand gesture and pointed a gun at the victim.

As they went onto the exit ramp onto Clark Street, Deere pulled beside the victim, got out, and fired a shot, the statement says. Deere returned to his vehicle and drove away, the victim allegedly told police.

Deere admitted to firing a shot near the victim, saying the man had threatened to physically assault him after tailgating his vehicle, the statement says. Deere said he fired the gun in the direction of Walmart, according to the statement.

Deere was in the Audrain County Jail on Friday without bond.