Brandon road rage shooting results in federal prison sentence

FLORIDA — A man involved in a road rage shooting in Brandon has been sentenced to federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced James Eugene Smith, 44, of Wimauma, to eight years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The court also ordered Smith to forfeit the firearm and ammunition.

Mr Smith entered a guilty plea on December 18, 2023.

According to court documents, in the early morning of January 14, 2023, Smith was driving west on in Brandon, Florida. Mr Smith reportedly believed that a driver in a black sedan was brake-checking him while a separate driver prevented him from passing.

Brake checking is when a driver brakes and causes the following vehicle to slow down.

Smith eventually passed both cars using the bi-directional center lane before reportedly brake-checking the black sedan in return. The driver of the black sedan eventually drove around Mr Smith.

Smith and the driver of the black sedan then are said to have exchanged gunfire.

Mr Smith made a U-turn in an alleged attempt to see the tag of the black sedan. After making the U-turn, Smith spotted a gray sedan that he thought was the black sedan.

Mr Smith reportedly opened fire, endangering the lives of the two victims—the driver and a passenger in the front seat—according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO).

The gray sedan then turned into a gas station. Smith reportedly followed the vehicle into the gas station, again firing at it.

Neither victim was shot.

At the time of the incident, Mr Smith had multiple prior felony convictions. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Michael R. Kenneth prosecuted it. Assistant United States Attorney James A. Muench is handling the forfeiture.