A tractor-trailer driver from Miami has been charged for allegedly shooting another big rig driver this morning, Dec. 1, on I-55 in the Barnhart area. The alleged shooter said he believed the other man was connected to a group from Florida that was threatening him and his family, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Michel Quintana-Betancourt, 46, has been charged with first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action, the Sheriff’s Office announced this evening. He was being held without bond at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro.
The man who reportedly was shot called the Sheriff’s Office at 8:03 a.m. today. Deputies quickly located the two tractor-trailers that were stopped on the shoulder of northbound I-55 near the Barnhart exit, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Bissell said.
The alleged victim was shot in the left leg. He was transported to an area hospital with a non-life threatening injury, according to the probable-cause statement in the case.
The Sheriff’s Office did not provide additional information about the man who was shot.
Quintana-Betancourt was arrested and taken to the Sheriff’s Office in Hillsboro, where he allegedly confessed to shooting the other driver with an AR-15-style gun while they were driving on I-55 between Pevely and Barnhart, the probable-cause statement said.
Quintana-Betancourt told investigators the other driver was boxing him in while they drove through a construction zone on the interstate and was cutting him off. He also said he believed the other driver was part of a conspiracy and a group from Florida that was threatening him and his family, according to the report.
Quintana-Betancourt allegedly said he fired one shot at the other tractor-trailer before pulling over and waiting for police to arrive, the report said.
Detectives reviewed dash camera footage from the alleged victim’s tractor-trailer. Detective Cpl. Kane Harris wrote in the probable-cause statement that “there appeared to be no visible altercation between the drivers, and the victim seemed to be completely caught off guard by the shooting.”
The alleged victim also did not appear to aggressively drive near Quintana-Betancourt before the shooting, according to the report.