Screen capture by Boch. Via UK Daily Mail.

Someone with anger management problems who reaches inside someone’s car after blocking them on the road is liable to get their ticket punched. That’s exactly happened to a plumber named Scott Mattison last week in a Chicago suburb.

Mattison suffered a road rage episode in Streamwood, Illinois. He stopped his truck, and verbally berated another driver. When he reached inside the other car and struck the driver, the driver shot and killed him.

Screen capture by Boch. Via UK Daily Mail.

The UK’s Daily Mail has the story.  In it, they paint the attacker as the victim, as if he did absolutely nothing to precipitate his own death.

A father-of-two was fatally shot in broad daylight in Chicago after getting himself involved in road rage incident with another driver. 

The shooting took place on Sunday in Streamwood, a northwestern suburb of the Windy City, at just before 5:20 p.m. in the area of Bartlett and Oltendorf roads.

Dashcam footage showed Scott Mattison, 46, who was driving a blue Ford pickup truck on Bartlett Road, getting out of his truck and approaching a white Ford sedan.

He was seen arguing with the sedan driver and reaching into the car’s open window when he was shot.  

Moments later, he is seen taking a couple of steps back after realizing that he had been hit.

Mattison, of Glendale Height, was rushed to AMITA Health St. Alexius Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. 

Police arrested the driver of the other car.

Screen capture by Boch. Via UK Daily Mail.

Mattison’s boss didn’t exactly seem shocked to hear about his employee’s involvement in the confrontation . . .

‘He didn’t deserve to die; to be gunned down the way he was,’ Kevin Polka, who was Mattison’s boss and one of his closest friend, told CBS Chicago. ‘He always was about his daughters,’ he added. 

The pair worked together at Polka’s small business, called Paragon Mechanic Inc. Mattison worked as a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning installer (HVAC).  

When asked if he was stunned by Mattison’s involvement in the quarrel, Polka said:  

‘I don’t know if it surprised me, of if I just – I know if he didn’t, he would be here today. Scott made mistakes, he did. He wasn’t perfect by any means.’

It didn’t surprise his boss that Mattison might have been involved in a road rage confrontation that escalated into a fatal shooting? Is that a nice way of saying he thought his employee had a hot temper?

Looking at the video, it’s clear that Mattison stopped his plumbing truck, blocking the other driver’s Ford Taurus. The video likely safe for work.

It’s also clear that upon reaching in at the other driver, Mattison moved in a striking motion. Not smart and certainly not legal.

From Illinois law:

    (720 ILCS 5/18-6) (was 720 ILCS 5/12-11.1)
    Sec. 18-6. Vehicular invasion.
    (a) A person commits vehicular invasion when he or she knowingly, by force and without lawful justification, enters or reaches into the interior of a motor vehicle while the motor vehicle is occupied by another person or persons, with the intent to commit therein a theft or felony.
    (b) Sentence. Vehicular invasion is a Class 1 felony.
(Source: P.A. 97-1108, eff. 1-1-13.)

As the Taurus driver’s side window was down, Mattison clearly reached inside without lawful justification but without using force. A defense attorney for the Taurus’ driver will surely argue that punching or stabbing at the driver fits the bill for use of “force” to commit the offense.

The plot thickens as the driver of the Taurus, 18-year-old Jonathan Mejia, obviously didn’t have a concealed carry license (21 is the minimum age for a carry license in Illinois.)  What’s more, he likely wasn’t transporting the firearm legally unless he was busy loading it while Mattison was yelling at him.

It seems reasonable to think Mejia wasn’t loading his gun as Mattison probably wouldn’t have stuck around long if he’d seen that.

From CBS2 Chicago:

An 18-year-old man has been charged with killing another driver in a road rage shooting this weekend in northwest suburban Streamwood.

Police said Jonathan Mejia is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in the shooting death of Scott Mattison, of Glendale Heights…

Police say after the shooting on Saturday, Mejia drove straight to the Streamwood Police Department where he admitted to the shooting and having a gun he knows he shouldn’t have.

There aren’t many criminal defense attorneys who would have recommended admitting anything to the police.

This seems to be a case of one driver committing at least one felony against another driver committing felonies. Is this a case of ‘when idiots collide?’  Time will tell.

115 COMMENTS

  1. People today just don’t understand, as bad as you think you are, there’s always someone badder! You wanna run your mouth, go ahead. But you start putting hands on other people, things get outta control real quick!

    • [Puts on editor’s hat]: “Unable to exercise self-control expected of grown-ass men in a civilized society, a Chicago man physically attacked another man following a road rage incident. The victim shot the aggressor in self defense, preventing further harm. At the time of the attack, the aggressor had illegally blocked the victim from retreating, which may be considered kidnapping or false arrest, depending on local laws. Co-workers of the decedent were not surprised by reports of his aggression, and stated, ‘We all knew his temper and violent tendencies would lead to something like this eventually. He should have stuck to clearing drains.'”

      • KJ
        March 10, 2022 At 11:16
        [Puts on editor’s hat]:……

        Jeeezzz KJ, with that sort of unbiased editing, you’ll never get a job at any major news outlet. 🤔

        No propaganda or adjenda pushing narrative?
        Enjoy your career in the minor leagues.

    • Uh… I’m okay with this. If he kept his hands to himself, he wouldn’t have gotten shot. Not a lot of sympathy from me out of this.

  2. The problem is a legal adult defended himself from an obviously out of control individual, and will be charged with multiple felonies for it. The problem is not that he defended himself, its the law that makes it a crime.

  3. First degree murder charges seem to be a it much. Second degree sure but I doubt the guy planned his road rage event.

    • Second degree? Are you serious? Self defense, justified homicide, 7 days in jail for unauthorized possession of a weapon unless defendant can demonstrate that the car wasn’t his, and his dad stored the weapon in the car, and it wasn’t loaded until he was assaulted, in which case, everything is hunkey-dorey.

  4. I view it as a prime example of offsetting penalties…all sides were penalized equally. We lost one flaming, violent azz AND a punk…Team Society wins!

    Place the ball on the 50-yd line and resume play.

    Waiting to see what ignorant, politicized crap Hiz / Herr Honor Lightfoot spews.

  5. I am sick of hearing if you are not this and that and compliant with this and that nitpicking law you must sit still in your vehicle while someone assaults you. etc. The plumber and cop wannabe was clearly in the wrong and he’s dead….His fault and his alone.

    Furthermore…his employer should have said he would have canned that hothead for using a named company truck like a police cruiser. All the deceased had to do is get a description and a license plate number and take it to the police.

  6. If you keep your windows up and your doors locked, the road rager has a hard time getting at you without a gun or a club to break the window. Breaking it provides evidence of his criminal intent.

    • Correctamundo.

      Your locked car door prevents a road rager from easily/quickly opening the door and harming you. And a closed window prevents a road rager from harming you with pepper spray or a knife. A closed window may even stop a road rager from breaching your glass with a bludgeon, depending on the type/size of bludgeon, how hard the rager swings the bludgeon, and what angle the bludgeon strikes the window.

      Above and beyond locking your car doors and keeping your car windows closed when a road rager approaches your car, drive away (if possible) before a road rager approaches your car.

    • kendahl, kendahl, kendahl…Being blocked by another driver intentionally denies right of passage and it is criminal and criminal intent…Said blocker exiting his vehicle and entering the other driver’s vehicle with his head and arm is also criminal and criminal intent.

      Perhaps you should measure between your head and a door glass and estimate how close the plumber’s head and hands would be to you. Furthermore a door glass will shatter right beside your head and disorient you using a easily hidden spark plug, etc. So up or down is irrelevant.

      The plumber running on stupid in a company truck no less has probably done similar things for awhile and got by and it all finally caught up with him. I see nothing thus far sticking to the person who was forced to defend themselves.

    • “If you keep your windows up and your doors locked, the road rager has a hard time getting at you without a gun or a club to break the window. Breaking it provides evidence of his criminal intent.”

      While having windows up/doors locked is obviously safer, you DO NOT sacrifice your rights to self preservation while operating a vehicle with windows open/doors unlocked.

      Morgue slab temp plumber showed his ‘criminal intent’ when he committed the final assault of his life.
      Bonus for shooters legal defense: The bonehead plumber actually blocked him in with clear intent to escalate the road rage confontation. 🤪

      • Noted gun and self defense expert hames Campbell has declared this a good shoot after reviewing a grainy, 10 second video. I guess that settles that lol 🖕🤡.

        • Thanks for the glowing review troll👍
          If you don’t like it, it must be closer to the truth than your speculations on the incident.

          Been sleeping awesome BTW. 🤣

        • …..”after reviewing a grainy, 10 second video.”……

          🤔
          Well, if it’s good enough for the burn, loot, murder and “mostly peaceful protests” crowds, why do you have an issue now? 🤣

          HEY, LOOK EVERYONE………………..
          The leftarded hypocrisy on full display once again!

          Dance 🐒🤡.

        • James, James, James,
          It seems just like yesterday that you told me I shouldn’t feed the trolls and no you are trying to feed this one a banana! 🍌😂

      • Not to mention he did it while working(he was driving a company truck) Many lawyers will be lining up to sue the business’s insurance and break that company down to nothing.

    • I should have explained in more detail. It looks like Mejia used deadly force to defend himself against a less than deadly attack. According to self defense lawyer Andrew Branca, the law considers an attack by an unarmed assailant to be less than deadly unless he enjoys a significant advantage (e.g. size, strength, age, fighting skill) over his victim. That describes what Mattison tried to do to Mejia. Yes, people have been badly injured or killed by a single punch but it’s rare enough that the law doesn’t treat it as deadly force. I don’t like this because it implies that, if you can’t save yourself with less than deadly force, you are obliged to take the beating.

      Branca’s advice is to have an effective, less than deadly alternative such as pepper spray. It works well in most cases and is legal to carry many places where a knife or firearm isn’t. Branca adds that less than deadly attacks, which only justify a less than deadly defense, are far more common than deadly ones.

      • Nice to see another fan of Andrew Branca on this site!

        I do not know about Chicago, but here in Florida your occupied vehicle is legally considered “highly defensible property”
        Just like inside your house.
        So you are privileged to respond to any attack, even a non-deadly attack, with deadly force.

        • My understanding is that authorization to use deadly force in highly defensible property is not hard law but is just a presumption that the intruder, by breaking in, has shown that he is a deadly threat to the occupants.

          Years ago, I accidentally interrupted a burglary. The burglars were junior high kids from the neighborhood. Had I confronted and shot them, I believe I would have been in serious legal trouble on the grounds that they weren’t big enough and strong enough to qualify as a deadly threat.

      • Blocking a car, and violently confronting an individual should be provocation enough to have “reasonable fear of injury or loss of life”. Also, from the driver’s seat one can hardly know if an assailant has a hidden weapon.

      • There is another consideration- even if the two are the same size, the driver of the car is in a severely disadvantaged position if it came to a physical altercation. He is in a narrow space behind the steering wheel with minimal space to avoid blows; the same surroundings will likely keep him from landing an effective blow. And the seat belt (probably) is holding him in place.
        Prosecutor: “You should have simply sat there and let him beat the **** out of you while you were pinned in the car.”
        Jury: “Yeah, right.”

  7. All Hail…… whoops, Al Hall will be along shortly to explain how this is accurate….

    The UK’s Daily Mail has the story. In it, they paint the attacker as the victim, as if he did absolutely nothing to precipitate his own death.

    Subjects are incapable of seeing reality.

    • You attack me all bets are off. Zero sympathy for the road rage. Was the kid a gang banger? A criminal record? 1st degree murder is a ridiculous charge…

      • Former water walker.
        I have seen many of your post here and you seem like a very responsible person.
        Please order the free book from the law of self-defense website.
        You can read it in one hour.
        After that you’ll be able to stay within the bounds of the law when using deadly force for self-defense.
        The lawyer who runs that website states that every single citizen who is arrested and prosecuted for armed self-defense is amazed that they broke the law.
        Your comment above indicates that you also will be amazed if it happens to you.
        Just order that free book, you’ll be able to defend yourself, and they won’t be able to convict you.

      • “1st degree murder is a ridiculous charge…”

        1st degree murder is a GREAT charge in this case, because it’s obviously wrong, meaning that the guy who shot someone in obvious self-defense has a very good chance of not being found guilty of some crime for defending himself.

        Now, he’ll almost certainly face some charges for having the gun, and he’ll probably be put through the ringer (if he doesn’t take a plea), but there’s no way a sane jury would find him guilty of FIRST degree murder for sitting in his car while a guy he never met blocked him in, came up to his window, and threw a punch.

        Second? Self-defense should work against that, but the charge would at least be plausible.

  8. Simple truth while EDCing a firearm……

    Be kind, de-escalate, dis-engage.
    Avoid the threat and remove yourself from the aggressor/situation…………until the moment you fear for a loved ones or your own life.

    That’s when you stop the threat.

    It will be interesting to see toxicology results on the plumber. 🤪 He did everything possible to escalate the confontation.

    Going hands on with a total stranger who’s sitting in their stopped vehicle is assault, pure and simple. Blocking them in? That’s holding them against their will, with ZERO authority.

    Play stupid games…….

  9. Ya got cut off in traffic? Or someone cut the lane, or didn’t bother with turn signals, or perhaps flipped you the bird? First question is did you recieve any damage? Or were you just inconveinianced? Sure, you can get as pissed off as you want. Beat your steering wheel, cuss the other driver for evrything your worth. honk the horn if you must. Still no reason to jump out and confront anyone. If you think the infraction is serious enough, get a plate number and possibly a picture on your smart phone. if no actual contact was made, and no actual damage done but to your pride, there is no good outcome for jumping out and assaulting or even screaming at the other driver. Smile, wave, give them the single finger salute if needs be, but just get over yourself and go on with your day. Avoids the whole situation and greatly lessen’s your chances of catching a bullet.

    • Personally I try to avoid providing a road rager any opportunity. Cruise along, follow limits, and indicate intentions. Plan ahead. Change lanes only when necessary. Cuts the stress dramatically.

    • Driving in down town L.A. for years, you just let these things go. It isn’t worth it. I have seen taxis drive on the sidewalk, I have seen shootings, a stabbing and a few beatings over 25+ years of driving in go home rush hour traffic. Even taxi drivers have to calm down or a seizure is in your future. I laugh when one of my family members tries to critique other peoples’ driving. We all make mistakes and those that make too many, cause accidents or get in them. Just let them go, Karma will apply at some point, we are here to make do and live, not correct others’ mistakes.

  10. Is there anybody alive today that does not know that guns are a fact of life in America? Every American is armed.

    Why in the name of whatever god you believe in would you attempt to assault an American? Plumber dude has seen this same scenario a thousand times on the evening news and he can’t figure out to hold back?

    The law should be changed. The driver that was assaulted should only face charges if he did not shoot the fool.

    • jwm,

      Many people do not operate rationally, which means facts of life (e.g. common firearm ownership) often fail to inform a person’s calculus.

      The simple and sad fact of the matter is that there are a LOT of broken people in the world. I once heard someone refer to them as “functionally dysfunctional”.

    • Most states provide that anyone entering or attempting to enter an occupied vehicle justifieslethalforce being applied to them to stop theintrusion.

      SO this “kid”, a legal adult, had a handgun in his car. Those cops know, better than anyone on the olanet excepting the Lori Lighthead creature, howdangerous Chicago can be. I’d not drive around in that city wihtout my handgun along with me. Can’t do that cuz I don’t have the Illinois Mohter May I Cards? Then I won’t be driving about in that city. IfI cannot defend myself legally somewhere I won’t BE in that somehwere.

  11. Maybe it wasn’t road rage…..maybe the young fellow was porking the old fellows daughters without permission and being chastised for it.

  12. And there’s the problem. What in most of the civilised world would have been settled with a smack in the gob is somehow jusified by being shot in the USA. This has actually happened to me A biker considered that I’d cut him up and when I put down my window he swung a not very effective or accurate punch. Did I consider a weapon? Yep! and a well placed, and somewhat lucky kick on the knee followed by a light[ish] palm jab, sufficed. I just had to hope that he’d seen the light because he was a bloody sight bigger than me and luck only last so long! He then actually apologised for wbhich I was eternally grateful I might add. No harm done. Only ego’s deflated and NO FECKING FUNERALS

    • Albert Hall,

      What in most of the civilised world would have been settled with a smack in the gob is somehow jusified by being shot in the USA.

      The murder charge on the driver clearly shows that our civilized society does not justify shooting the road rager.

      At least get your facts straight.

      • Murder One is premeditated, that means, you planned head, laid in wait, let the victim spring the trap then let him have it. Or no trap at all. To prove Murder One the AtG would have to establish a relationship, demonstrate HOW the kid i the car KNEW the plumber was ahead, do something to make him stop and get out, all to set the stage for his carefully planned assault with the gun. IF Driver had done all that, do you REALLY think he’d have gone off to the precinct house to report what had just happened/ If he was that insane he’d never have made it to mark the comletion of his eighteenth trip round the sun. I’ll bet they hung Murder One round his neck to get him to qukcly plead down to felony possession under age of a loaded weapon in a vehicle, wihtout haveing also the Mother May I Card labelled FOID. That gets one more gun off the street, one more “prohibited person” thus reducing the nmuber remaining to be disarmedby two.. the kid and the now planted plumber.

        • Murder 1 is a bargaining chip. Who would take a murder 1 charge if they can plea down to a lesser crime, with significantly less jail time?

          I can hear the jury deliberate: “If he hadn’t been illegally carrying a gun, this wouldn’t have happened. The defendant already had in mind to shoot anyone he was afraid of. No gun, no crime, no one dead. Guilty. Where’s the closest happy hour?”

        • “Murder One is premeditated, that means, you planned head, laid in wait, let the victim spring the trap then let him have it.”

          The Illinois statute makes no mention of planning, waiting, preparation, traps or spending any length of time thinking about it beforehand.

          It only requires that you “intend” to do it or “know” that your act will cause death; I quote those because I think you have to dig into case law to find exactly how courts define them.

          (720 ILCS 5/9-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 9-1)
          (a) A person who kills an individual without lawful justification commits first degree murder if, in performing the acts which cause the death:
          (1) he or she either intends to kill or do great

          bodily harm to that individual or another, or knows that such acts will cause death to that individual or another;

          Full statute here: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/072000050K9-1.htm

        • ““If he hadn’t been illegally carrying a gun, this wouldn’t have happened……… “”

          🤔 The same thing was said on TTAG about Kenosha Lefty/Pedo Boi/Faux Paramedic after Kyle vaporized his right bicep. 🤔

          But that was wrong in that case, right?

          Your thinly vailed bias/hypocrisy is showing again SIA. 🙄

          What you are hearing is the breeze whistling inside your empty head.

    • a-hall…Explain to the class how you manged to get all of that “blood” out of the biker through your window? Surely a wise ol’ chap like you would not have chanced exiting your vehicle and going to the morgue? So describe your technique through a window for that amazing sounding kick “on the knee” and that light-ish “palm jab.” I don’t even think Jet Li could accomplish such a feat.

      • He’s already told us the Brits can go off big time if they want too. Then add his SF training, kicking someone in the knee through the window is easy. ? ?
        I wonder why the biker thought AH had “Cut him up” though?
        Albert your not giving us both sides of the story.
        Here in America if you ” cut someone up” your liable to get shot.

    • “…somewhat lucky kick on the knee followed by a light[ish] palm jab, sufficed. I just had to hope that he’d seen the light because he was a bloody sight bigger than me and luck only last so long!”

      You got lucky, and you know it…and you think that proves nobody would ever need to be armed?

      Pure stupidity.

    • Feckin’ Brits don’t know what civilization is. They had a glimpse of civilization when the Romans ran their crappy little islands. They the Brits tried to imitate the Romans by building an empire. Except, it all went to shite, sans the handbasket. Now the Brits are being overrun by foreigners from everywhere on the planet. That is NOT how you run an empire, morons. But, where were we? Oh – some story about settling a fight with a bikey, right? I call hamshite on that story. Albert Hall actually crapped his pants, and had to go home for a shower.

      Take your stories elsewhere, hamshite. Don’t tell us about some mythical civilized world.

      • “I can hear the jury deliberate: “If he hadn’t been illegally carrying a gun, this wouldn’t have happened. The defendant already had in mind to shoot anyone he was afraid of.”

        Yet, if this logic is applied to Grosskrutz vs Rittenhouse, you don’t agree with it. 🤔

        The progressive hypocrisy once again, on full display.

    • “What in most of the civilised world would have been settled with a smack in the gob is somehow justified by being shot in the USA.”

      Thinking that if Americans believed being civilised was the pinnacle of human achievement, the founders would not have decided to be free of a benign king and parliament. They would have been content to quietly go about their business as subjects of a monarch, and happy to do it.

      • “decided to be free of a benign king and parliament.”

        Spoken like a true subject there. Enjoy those chains.👍

        All kings always remain true to the interests of the masses right. History has proven this to be fact. 🤪

    • The problem is that the “smack in the gob” will be suffered by the victim of the road rage attack unless he has the size, strength and fighting skill to ward off his assailant. That is not an acceptable outcome. Fortunately, there are alternatives such as pepper spray. Unfortunately, if I am correct, most of them are prohibited in the UK. That puts us back to the small and the weak as legally designated victims.

  13. There was a time I would have argued that most Americans are not stupid. Now I believe that 50 percent of our population is not only stupid but crazy. Far too many people no longer exercise any common sense or seem to know right from wrong. Personally I think the drug problem in this Country far exceeds what people believe it to be. I think it has to be one of the prime causes of the kinds of negative behaviors we are seeing on a daily basis.

  14. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Sorry a person had to be stopped/killed, but life is crazy, you don’t go looking for crap. 9 times out of 10, it’s going to find you. Just like this fool. This almost happened to me driving in my town one day. Fool cut me off, ran in front of me from the far right lane, when I was in a turning lane. Cut me off bigger then crap. No big deal. I almost T-boned him in his drivers door. Traffic was bumper to bumper. I was blocked in, no where to go. Could not go up, either side, or back. I was totally blocked in. Could not retreat. I shrugged my shoulders like WTF are you doing dude. Did not flip him off or any thing to escalate the situation. By that time, circled all the way around me in the turning lane I was in, and parked behind me in the turning lane and I saw him get out and start walking towards my car. Thank God the traffic light changed. I got out of there and left him standing there. What a FOOL. I wonder if he knew ohs lucky we both were the light changed, and I could get out of the situation.

  15. Well I feel sorry for the plumbers kids. To bad that had to happen .
    I’m thinking when gasoline prices rise to theBiden’s planned $15 a gallon and bread is $6 a loaf it’s going to get a whole lot worse ( or better, if you like eating road kill) :>)

  16. Arrogant attacker thought he was baaaad. He thought he had rights that transcended other people’s. Like many others, he discovered his error when he wound up on the wrong end of a gun. He should have learned his lesson decades ago in a less final manner. Maybe he didn’t get his azz whooped enough. Who knows.

    As for the shooter, he learned something too. And he will pay a stiff price for his education.

  17. And the guy was bald with a goatee. I guess if you are bald with a goatee, you are automatically a tough guy. Oh yeah, no judgment on guys who are bald and have goatees, but it seems like it’s a pattern sometimes. I guess they have to compensate acting big and bad, for lack of hair, and obviously brains. And oh yeah, before any bald goateed tough guys on here think I’m judging, I happen to be bald with a goatee, but minus the tough guy persona.

    • I just don’t think you have it right, Brannon67. Anyone who chases turds through the sewers has got to be a real badazz. Hey, is that a job you can do? No? Show some respect for the poor deceased victim here! /sarcasm

  18. WHEW , N WHEW , THE LITTLE BIG WORD IF , IF ONLT HE HAD KEPT HIS TEMP UNDER CONTROL , IF HE HAD NOT TRIED TO FIST FIGHT WITH THE OTHER PERSON.
    IF THEY HAD ONLY NEVER MEET ON THE ROAD . WHAT WOULD I HAVE DONE , YEAH KEEP WINDOW UP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE . IF WAS ONLY SHOT IN THE SHOULDER . IF AND IF .
    PRAYERS ALL AROUND .

  19. I guess you don’t have to have a goatee, just bald with a complex and low self esteem. Just be tough, it will make up for you lack of hair. Dime a dozen man, dime a dozen.

  20. I’ve been the recipient of a couple of road rage incidents. It’s interesting. In two of the three I was on duty in plain clothes driving a blue Ford Explorer with tinted windows. The other guy committed the offence, (violation of right-of-way), blew his horn at me and flipped me the bird. Both times, different guys. So I turned on my concealed blue lights to pull them over so I could ask what I had I had done wrong. Actually, when I walked up to the window I said, “My, aren’t we having fun now!?” I didn’t give them a citation, but we did have a conversation.

    • “turned on my concealed blue lights to pull them over”

      I witnessed an incident like that years ago. I’m always extra cautious around vehicles that cops use like Explorers and Chargers.

      • We have a ton of them in Colorado. Just like you said. Even smaller vehicles that must be the cops daily driver.

  21. As my mom told me over and over again when I was leaving the house with friends, “The only difference of those in prison and us…is a lack of self control.

    Get over yourself and your pride.

    • That sounds like a plot for a story – dead men tell no tales. You think you can build on that?

    • Sometimes the dead man’s story can be reconstructed, though. The fact that we’re surrounded by so much video helps with that, but even without video … there are ways …

  22. I have no doubt that the people in Chicago are frustrated, tense, and scared of every little thing. The city and state leaders won’t do anything to keep the peace. All anyone wants to do is blame guns. Well, this is the result of that.

    The guy in the car might not have had the gun in the first place if he didn’t think something like this was so likely to happen.

    Do us all a favor and keep your attitude in check when your driving.

    If you want to have a gun with you then you need to do it legally. But do it wisely whatever you do.

  23. Clearly constitutional carry is to blame for this situation. There wouldn’t have been any road rage if there weren’t a gun in this situation, no sirree.

    Actually I think the 2A should be the perfect defense. Unfortunately it probably won’t work out for this guy.

    And Illinois will go constitutional carry sometime approximately never.

  24. did anyone rewind the video further back to before the truck blocked the white ford—just playing devil’s advocate, what if the driver of the white car was waving a gun at the truck driver, it pissed him off, went to slap the kid on the head, meanwhile the kid did have to load his weapon, (it did not fire the previous time), then the kid shot the man—-just wondering this is really half a story

    • If your going to engage a wild eyed pistol waver then you should be aware it might be your last encounter.

      Take pictures and video to give to the cops. They would love to take this 18 year old’s gun for doing stupid things like that.

    • LMAO – if you’re dumb enough to slap a man in the head when you KNOW he’s carrying a bang stick, you’re dumb enough to collect your Darwin award.

  25. ‘I don’t know if it surprised me, of if I just – I know if he didn’t, he would be here today. Scott made mistakes, he did. He wasn’t perfect by any means”.

    Translation: Scott had a history of anger issues and a lack of self-control that on more than one occasion has resulted in violence.

  26. I would like to know what was going on to make the plumber stop, get out and confront the 18 year old. My guess is the 18 year old is a gang bangin punk ass thug with an extensive list of criminal acts but maybe not the convictions to go along with it.

  27. Stopping in front of someone is hardly blocking them in. There was far enough room to get out of there. Roll up the window, lock the door, crank the wheel all the way to the right, back up two feet, crank the wheel to the left and drive away! WTF, did he get his drivers license out of a box of Cracker Jacks?
    Since it’s clear Mr Plumber has a bad attitude, I’ll reserve judgement but it seems clear the gun shots were not in self defense but rather retribution.

    • Yep, he may have shot in anger. There’s a lot we don’t know. I’m with you. Always leave room to get out, even when pulling up to a light. You aren’t going to get there any quicker by tailgating. Leave enough room to get into the next lane.

  28. Maybe ………What if………..

    Ok. Follow this now………..Mario brother Luigi was a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2049 to 2022, having been programmed to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son will one day save mankind from extinction by a hostile artificial intelligence in a post-apocalyptic future.
    Mejia could be a freedom fighting soldier sent back in time to protect Sarah. 🤔

    Sounds like a theory lil’d and whiner can get behind. 🤪

  29. Just playing devil’s advocate, but most 18 year olds that I am aware of are at best mediocre drivers just due to lack of experience. Throw them in big city traffic and they are going to screw up on the regular. If i had to guess the preceding events, the inexperienced driver likely did something at least a little boneheaded. Then the plumber did something a lot boneheaded.

    • Assuming a whole lot of “facts” not in evidence. Makes no difference how inept the driver was – no excuse to kill somebody who is not presenting imminent danger.

  30. “Dying ain’t much of a living, boy.”

    Should let the cops handle traffic offenses there, plumber.

  31. Apparently, it would have been too much trouble to just roll the window up and drive away. Much easier to kill somebody that irks you – not that the attacker was anyone to sympathize with. I have a feeling that by the time the authorities are done with him, he will regret that he didn’t just drive away. Maybe next time, he’ll drive more courteously.

    • Never mind the fact the shooter as a juvenile had a prior unlawfully use of a weapon charge. This weak individual Mejia 18 illegally had the firearm. Mejia had several options he could of chose after being punched. The idea that he shot the victim while being punched is a false narrative ( a lie) watch the video Mattison is shot after stepping back from the punch.

      Most of you people who agree with shooting the victim are cowards. You have no value for life to think that over a argument and one punch justifies unloading 4 rounds into someone and killing them shows the disregard for life.

      Carrying a weapon unlawfully, and firing a weapon for the second time in your young life and this time killing someone obviously should be reason for all of us to be glad this coward is off the street.

      Mejia is a punk, who did nothing to deescalate the situation. Rolled down his window, argued with the victim. He could of used the weapon to prevent the punch, but because he is coward fired four rounds and took the life of and individual because he felt disrespected wow what a bad ass lol. Now enjoy being a ass toy in prison for the next 25 years. DMF

      • “Most of you people who agree with shooting the victim are cowards. You have no value for life to think that over a argument and one punch justifies unloading 4 rounds into someone and killing them shows the disregard for life.”

        You are holding the hot dog by the wrong end.

        The aggressor is responsible for all the following behavior. Put your life on the line by attempting to physically overpower (attack) someone, and you declare your own life forfeit. Expecting the victim of your attack to play nice is arrogance that invites termination.

        De-escalate? Who created the conditions where “de-escalation” is even a consideration? The aggressor/attacker received just compensation for generating the incident. Was the response legal? Doesn’t matter; if the response is illegal, that will be addressed by proper authorities. Point is, if a person decides they will take it upon themselves to “teach someone a lesson”, then they voluntarily accept all the possible outcomes; all of them.

  32. Play stupid games win stupid prizes . If you reach into another vehicle uninvited the consequences of your actions are yours alone.

  33. THE COP WHO ARRESTED THE DRIVER NEEDS TO BE HUNTED DOWN AND BUTCHERED–NOW! ALONG WITH HIS ENTIRE FAMILY! AS LONG AS WE ALLOW THESE NAZI THUGS TO LORD IT OVER US WE ARE NO BETTER OFF THAN JEWISH FOLKS IN AUSCHWITZ! HUNT DOWN AND KILL THIS THUG COP AND HIS ENTIRE FAMILY! NOW! NOW! NOW!!!

    • A bit over the top, beyond the pale don’t you think ? Sleep on it and reconsider your statement.

    • OH MY GOD WHAT A STUPID COMMENT JUST GOES TO SHOW I SHOULDN’T INTERNET WHILE DRUNK MODERATOR PLEASE REMOVE THAT STUPID JOKE POST AND FOR GOD’S SAKE LEAVE THE POOR COPPER AND HIS PEEPS ALONE. GEEZ!!!!!

    • No. When you shoot someone, you should expect to be arrested. And that’s even with the cleanest of shoots.

      While I think it’s ridiculous to have laws preventing 18-year-olds from carrying guns, just from watching the video, I have my doubts about this being a “clean” shoot, so even if the young man did act in self defense, it makes sense that he was arrested.

      Regardless, this is a reminder that if you’re going to confront someone, you should be mindful that the person may be armed and ready to shoot you, sometimes even over the slightest provocation. What good does it do you, if your attacker is put in prison for life for murder, if you’re still pushing daisies?

      • “When you shoot someone, you should expect to be arrested. ”

        Zackly!

        Killing someone is a homicide. Homicide is a crime. Claims of self-defense do not block arrest for committing a crime. While it is true that in some jurisdictions the cops can, or do, decline to arrest, the homicide is reported to the DA, who decides whether to arrest and try.

        The self-defense assertion at trial does not erase the homicide. Self-defense claims admit that a homicide was committed, but that the circumstances justified the act.

        Effectively, the defendant admits to a crime. The DA no longer has to prove the defendant committed the crime of homicide, but only that “self-defense” did/does not apply.

        Expect to be arrested at the scene; plan accordingly.

  34. Mejia wasn’t man enough to settle it with his fists. I’ve been in a few scrapes but I’ve managed to avoid shooting anyone. That’s chicken-shit.

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