Michael Davidson
Justin Farmer
Two Mountain Home residents were arrested following a Saturday afternoon road rage incident in Baxter County. According to Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery, 25-year-old Michael Davidson and 24-year-old Justin Farmer were both released on bond from the Baxter County Detention Center.
The sheriff’s office received a call just at 2 p.m. from a woman who previously reported the theft of a top from her husband’s Mazda Miata. She said she had spotted a Miata at a Mountain Home retailer with the stolen top on it. The Miata left the store and was reported to be traveling on Arkansas Highway 5 North toward Midway being followed by the complainant and others. The chase then turned onto Arkansas Highway 126 toward Gassville.
Multiple calls to the sheriff’s office and 911 reported vehicles involved in the chase being rammed. One of the pursuing vehicles was reportedly temporarily disabled on Highway 5, and another vehicle was disabled in the area of the Midway Fire Department. The Miata and a third vehicle giving chase were later involved in a crash near the intersection of Highway 126 and Wildcat Shoals Road.
A Gassville Police Officer arrived on the scene at 2:18. A man identified as Davidson was seen by officers holding a metal rod and yelling at two individuals inside the Miata. They told officers they didn’t know who was chasing them or why and denied knowledge of a stolen top. They accused Davidson and others of attempting to run them off the roadway, and they also claimed Davidson struck the Miata’s windshield with the metal rod after the crash. The passenger of the Miata suffered cuts to her legs from the glass.
The driver of the Miata also alleged Davidson side-swiped the Miata with his vehicle. The driver of another vehicle, identified as Farmer, was alleged to have cut in front of the Miata and slammed on his brakes, causing the vehicles to swerve into the oncoming traffic lane. An independent witness behind the vehicles reportedly confirmed that account.
The top to the Miata had come off in the area of a Midway retailer and was later recovered. The driver of the remaining vehicle chasing the Miata gave a different account of the incident, but it was not corroborated by independent witnesses.
Davidson was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault and a felony count of first-degree criminal mischief with bond set at $20,000. Farmer faces one felony count of aggravated assault, and his bond was set at $10,000. Davidson and Farmer are both scheduled to appear in Baxter County Circuit Court this month.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI