Suspect in the MS Coast road rage case claimed self-defense. He fired 5 rounds.
A Mississippi Coast couple tried to get away from a driver in a road rage incident before the man followed them into a parking lot, leaned out of his driver’s side window, and fired five rounds at them, according to Gulfport police Detective Ben Ford.
The police detective said video footage from Sam’s Club on Old Highway 49 captured some of the action, namely the moment Brannon Michael Griffin Jr., 20, of Gulfport, leaned out the window of his Toyota Highlander and started shooting at the couple in their Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
At the scene, Ford said police recovered five shell casings and found that three of the five shots hit the couple’s pickup truck. The couple was not injured.
The new details about the crime came out during testimony at a preliminary hearing in December before Justice Court Judge Brandon Ladner. After the hearing, the judge found enough evidence to send the case to a Harrison County grand jury for indictment.
Griffin fled the scene of the Nov. 19 shooting but was arrested later and charged with two counts of aggravated assault.
After his arrest, Griffin claimed he was firing up in the air, but Ford said the video footage showed otherwise.
Griffin’s attorney, Steven Clark, questioned whether Griffin was acting in self-defense since he indicated that he started shooting after he noticed the other driver had “something” in his hand.
According to Ford, the couple did have a gun on them, and the pickup truck driver admitted pulling it out to act in self-defense but said the gun jammed when he tried to fire it.
According to police, the road rage case started after the couple honked their horn at Griffin because he was blocking traffic at a green light near Crossroads shopping center.
According to Gulfport police, the honk “enraged’ Griffin.
When the couple attempted to drive around Griffin, he sped up to keep them from doing so.
Eventually, police said, the couple managed to go around Griffin, but then he drove up behind them just enough to bump the back of their truck.
At that point, the couple fled to Sam’s parking lot, where the shooting happened.
At the hearing, the defense attorney successfully argued that his client was eligible for a lower bond since his state bail recommendations call for a lower bond for crimes with a prison sentence of 20 years or less. The judge agreed to reduce Griffin’s total bond from $500,000 to $200,000 with the added condition that he stay away from the victims and not possess any guns or ammunition.
Harrison County prosecuting attorney Herman Cox argued for the higher bond because of the seriousness of the offense that could have ended in a loss of life.
Griffin had no prior criminal history.
