MANCHESTER, NH — A Florida man admitted to firing a warning shot at a pickup truck late Monday afternoon but told detectives it was because the driver had hit his girlfriend’s car several times, endangering his child, according to a police affidavit.
Luis Rodriguez, 33, of Orlando, entered not guilty pleas Thursday in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern District to charges of reckless conduct and two counts of falsifying physical evidence. Bail was set at $1,000 cash.
The shooting took place at about 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 13 in the area of Granite and Barr streets.
Asked why he didn’t call police after he fired the gun, Rodriguez asked, “Why would you call the police right after committing a crime?”
The shooting was called in at 4:29 p.m. The victim, identified as J.S. in court documents, flagged down an officer in the area of 436 Granite St.
He said his Chevrolet pickup truck was shot once as he was sitting in the driver’s seat. The bullet went through the headlight of the truck, police said, but did not get past the engine.
J.S. told police that at the intersection of Granite and Second streets, a Spanish-looking woman driving an older maroon minivan cut him off in traffic. He honked his horn which started a road rage incident between them.
Both drivers continued west on Granite Street but then the minivan pulled onto the side of Smokers Haven, 4 Main St. while J.S. continued driving west on Granite Street.
At the intersection of Granite and Dover streets, J.S. saw a silver sedan he had passed earlier. Unsure if the minivan or silver sedan had followed him, he drove around the block before backing up into his driveway. When he did, he said the silver sedan stopped directly in front of his truck.
The driver’s window of the car was rolled down and the driver brandished a matte silver-and-black handgun and pointed it at him. J.S. said he put his hands up in the air to show he was unarmed and for the man not to shoot. The driver, however, fired a shot, hitting the driver-side headlight.
The car then sped off, heading west on Granite Street with J.S. following behind in an attempt to get the license plate. The car turned onto Winter Street and J.S. lost sight of it in the area of Winter and Parker streets.
J.S. described the car as a silver Toyota or Nissan, bearing a white and orange license plate, possibly a Florida registration. The driver was a Spanish man between the ages of 20 and 30, with no facial hair and wearing a red flat-brim hat, he said.
Police obtained surveillance video of the incident which recorded a silver Mercedes-Benz with a driver either White or Hispanic wearing a yellow reflective work jacket and possibly wearing a dark-colored hat.
One detective believed the man worked at the Manchester Department of Public Works while three other officers said they saw a Mercedes parked by the city gas pumps on Lincoln Street; one detective said it had Florida plates on it.
On Feb. 15, 2023, two days after the shooting, police put out a news release with screenshots of the silver Mercedes asking for the public’s help in identifying the driver. That same day, Rodriguez showed up at the police station, arriving with his girlfriend in the maroon minivan, and announcing he was responsible for the Granite Street shooting.
Detectives Timothy Carter and Eric MacDuff went to the lobby to speak with Rodriguez who told them his car was all over the news. While contemplating waiving his Miranda Rights, Rodriguez told the detectives there were three sides to every story and there were cameras all over the city. He told them the other driver put his child’s life in danger and that he fired a warning shot.
Ultimately, he waived his rights.
Rodriguez said J.S. crashed into his girlfriend’s vehicle multiple times in the area of Granite and Main streets. They pulled over and he got out of his car to confront J.S. when J.S. sped past him. Rodriguez got back in his car and drove after J.S. Along the way, he loaded his pistol which was in the center console. He said J.S. circled the block then quickly backed into a driveway. Rodriguez said he “pinned” J.S. in and began yelling at him. He said J.S. began moving his truck so he fired a “warning shot” into the truck before taking off.
Asked where his car was, he said he parked it at his mother’s residence in Lawrence, Mass., but would not give investigators the address. He said he didn’t drive it to the police station because he did not want it to get towed. He also wouldn’t tell investigators where the gun was because he said he didn’t was police to seize it.
Publisher’s note: The headline was edited and the story has been updated from a previous version.