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NEW PORT RICHEY - A rookie Hernando County sheriff's deputy has been arrested and fired after shooting a car in an apparent case of road rage in Pasco County, authorities said.
Charles Patric Afriat, 32, was arrested shortly after the gunplay on U.S. 19 Saturday. He was charged with aggravated assault and shooting into an occupied vehicle, both felonies, and released later Saturday on $15,000 bail.
The driver whose car was shot, Leonard Umhoefer, 46, of New Port Richey, was not injured. He told police that he had no idea what made Afriat so angry.
The men do not know each other, New Port Richey police Capt. Darryl Garman said.
Garman said the drivers clashed as they headed down a dark stretch of U.S. 19 about 6:30 a.m.
Afriat, who was headed home to New Port Richey after an overnight shift in Hernando County, pulled his black Jeep Cherokee up close behind Umhoefer's small blue car on U.S. 19 near Cross Bayou Boulevard and began flashing his lights, Garman said.
As he passed Umhoefer, Afriat was yelling, screaming and making obscene gestures, Garman said.
"At some point during this altercation, (Umhoefer) hears what he believes to be a gunshot and then a thud," Garman said.
The thud was a bullet from Afriat's service weapon hitting the door jamb on the passenger side of Umhoefer's car, authorities said.
Then, Garman said, the Jeep took off, with Umhoefer in pursuit. It made a U-turn and started north on U.S. 19. Then it turned again and headed back south before it hit a curb near Gulf Drive.
Umhoefer jotted down the tag number, then called 911 from his cell phone as the Jeep drove off. Police officers met Umhoefer and found the bullet hole.
They tracked the tag number to Afriat. He denied any knowledge of the incident, Garman said, but officers found fresh scuff marks on the front tires of his Jeep.
Afriat later came to the police station for an interview. But Garman said Afriat did not acknowledge being involved until after his arrest.
"He made up a reason that this guy was chasing him," Garman said. "He was afraid and he fired a round in self-defense."
Afriat's department-issued .40-caliber Glock handgun could have done much more damage if the bullet hadn't hit the door jamb, Garman said.
"Could it have traveled and struck the driver? Yes, it's very possible," he said.
Umhoefer could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Reached at his home, Afriat declined to talk about the details of the incident, but he contradicted the general police account.
"The only thing I can tell you is that I wasn't the aggressor in this," he said. "I'm really concerned for my safety and the safety of my family."
Just two weeks shy of his first anniversary as a uniformed patrol deputy, Afriat's employment was probationary, Hernando County sheriff's spokesman Lt. Joseph Paez said Sunday.
Based on the arrest and the investigation so far, Hernando County Sheriff Richard Nugent fired Afriat on Saturday.
"The sheriff has summarily dismissed Mr. Afriat," Paez said.
In June 2002, Afriat was cited for driving with a license expired for four months or less. He paid a $46 fine.
In 1990, Afriat was involved in a four-car accident in Tarpon Springs, according to Pinellas County court records. He was charged with careless driving and operating a vehicle without insurance. He was fined $54 for the careless driving citation, and the second charge was dismissed.
He had four other traffic citations listed in Pinellas County: two for speeding, one for tailgating and one for passing on the right.
- Times staff writers Joy Davis-Platt and Aaron Sharockman contributed to this report.