Smithtown man charged with pointing gun at driver in road rage incident, police say

A Smithtown man who allegedly pointed a handgun at another driver during a road-rage encounter Wednesday in Kings Park is facing criminal charges, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.

The man, 57-year-old Christopher Tartaglia, was tracked down by the police about a half-hour later at his house and charged with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon, according to an email from the police press office.

Tartaglia’s arrest comes less than a week after an alleged road rage incident this past Friday in neighboring Nassau County in which an upstate man was charged with murder: fatally slamming his pickup truck into a motorcyclist off the Long Island Expressway in North Hills, Newsday reported.

The victim was Ibis Baez, 29, of the Bronx, who was riding between jobs as an HVAC technician. Brian Noll, 64, of upstate Scio, who was driving a Ford F-250 pickup truck, "intentionally swerved" and pinned Baez against a guardrail off Exit 34, police said.

In Wednesday’s case in Suffolk, Tartaglia was driving a 2015 BMW X5 east on Cortez Drive, just east of Indian Head Road, at about 6 p.m. when he started to tailgate the driver in front of him, "while honking his horn repeatedly," according to a Suffolk police news release.

The driver, a 50-year-old man, pulled to the side to let Tartaglia pass.

"Tartaglia pulled alongside the stopped vehicle and threatened the driver while pointing a handgun in his direction before driving away," the release said.

The driver called 911, described the vehicle and gave its license plate, and police officers went to Nell Drive, where Tartaglia lives, and arrested him, the press office said.

Officers found three firearms, all of which he had legally, according to the office: the Ruger LCP Max he is believed to have used to menace the other driver; a Glock handgun; and a rifle. Tartaglia had permits for the Ruger and the Glock, and doesn’t need one for the rifle. All three weapons were confiscated.

Tartaglia pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip on Thursday, according to court records. Bail was set at $10,000 cash, $20,000 insured bond, or $100,000 partially secured surety bond. It is unclear whether he is represented by a lawyer.

According to a report last year in the news outlet The Trace, gun-involved incidents of road rage in the United States have more than doubled since 2014, with the number of victims injured or killed having gone up more than fivefold.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.