Man charged after incident of road rage – presumably hate crime

BALTIMORE – A road rage incident escalated this week in Anne Arundel County, and a 63-year-old man is now charged with first-degree assault and other violent crimes.

Anne Arundel County Police also believe there is evidence of a hate crime.

Police first responded to the corner of Marshall Road and 8th Avenue shortly before 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

But the chain of events began more than 10 miles away at the Arundel Mills shopping center. There, the victim got into an aggressive traffic accident with one of the suspects.

According to Marc Limansky, spokesman for Anne Arundel County Police, “(the suspect) shouted racial slurs at the victim.”

WJZ has obtained the charging documents in this case and confirmed that the slur involved the N-word.

The suspect drove home to Brooklyn Park and the victim followed him.

According to the indictment, on the way back, the suspect called her husband, Keith Kelly. When she and the victim reached the neighborhood, he was standing outside armed with a hammer.

After some argument, the victim told police that Kelly pulled out a gun. According to the indictment, Kelly did not fire it, but only handed it over to his wife at some point.

As the argument continued, the victim went to the trunk of his car when Kelly, he claims, attacked him and smashed one of the car windows with the hammer.

“We are calling this a hate crime because when you combine the racial slur with the subsequent actions of the suspects, it is quite clear that this was a crime motivated by hatred toward members of the African-American community,” Limansky said.

According to charging documents, the victim retaliated by taking a piece of brake pad from the trunk of the car and throwing it at Kelly’s neck.

When Kelly was questioned by police, he said, according to the indictment, that he believed the victim was going to get a gun.

He and his wife initially denied having brought the weapon with them, but then admitted that it was only an air rifle.

Limansky said too many heated arguments would result in violent crime.

“Just don’t do it. If someone is bothering you on the road, just let them pass you. Let them drive away and don’t get involved with them because that could be really dangerous for everyone involved,” he said.

Kelly is also charged with second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and criminal damage to property. No charges have been filed against Kelly’s wife.

Kelly was released from jail on bail on Thursday and is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on July 10.