BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A man rammed several vehicles, smashed a window and threatened deputies Tuesday morning before he was ultimately arrested, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies arrested Raymond Hofmann following the road rage attack near the intersection of School Street and Bay Avenue near Cocoa, according to a news release.
Investigators said they received calls about a Chevy Tahoe parked in the middle of the road which then started ramming vehicles as they tried to go around the SUV.
“He’s in the middle of the street here on School Street and he is blocking the road and I was sitting here waiting for him to move and instead he jumped in his truck and smashed into me,” a man said in a 911 call. “I’m in a white F-350 Dually. Brand f------ new and he just f------ smashed into it.”
Deputies said the driver, Hofmann, then got out of the SUV and started hitting vehicles with a tire iron as they passed. Investigators said the Hofmann eventually smashed the driver’s side window of a passing truck, leaving the tire iron stuck in the broken glass.
“I just remember hearing a bunch of crashing and stuff,” neighbor Bruce Bright said.
According to the release, Hofmann was also threatening people with a nail gun and a crowbar.
“He’s approaching (another person) with a nail gun and now he’s hitting his truck with the crowbar,” a 911 caller said.
When deputies arrived on scene, they said Hofmann was ordered to drop the crowbar, but he refused.
“You will have to kill me,” Hofmann said to deputies, according to the release.
The man then threw the crowbar and ran away. Deputies said they chased Hofmann, who threw a grill and a chair at deputies before they were ultimately able to cuff him.
Bright said Hofmann flipped out.
“I reckon that they thought it was road rage, but I think it had something to do with a mental problem or something, maybe,” the neighbor said. “You know, he just snapped.”
Hofmann faces charges of resisting, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and other charges stemming from the attacks on other drivers, according to the sheriff’s office.
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