State police arrest Ohio man after he brandished a paintball gun in an apparent road rage incident in Howard County

State police arrest Ohio man after he brandished a paintball gun in an apparent road rage incident in Howard County

June 13, 2024

(WEST FRIENDSHIP, MD) – Maryland State Police arrested an Ohio man this morning after he brandished a paintball gun during an alleged DUI incident on I-70 in Howard County.

The defendant is James Wells, 39, of Ohio. After consultation with the Howard County District Attorney’s Office, Wells was arrested at the scene and charged with first degree assault. He was transported to the Howard County Department of Corrections for further processing.

The victim reported to Maryland State Police from the Waterloo Barrack that he was traveling on I-70 West, west of the West Friendship Scale House, at 9:30 a.m. today. He called 9-1-1 and reported that the driver of a blue Chevrolet sedan pointed a firearm at him during a DUI incident. The victim was also able to provide police with a license plate number.

Frederick Barracks officers located the suspect vehicle on I-70 westbound at MD-15 in Frederick and conducted a traffic stop. During the traffic stop, the driver, later identified as Wells, told police he had pointed a paintball gun (pictured below) at the victim. Wells turned the loaded paintball gun over to police. He was arrested at the scene.