CHICAGO — A suburban man whose car broke down on the Kennedy Expressway fired a shot at a passing vehicle after becoming angry that passing drivers wouldn’t stop to help him, Chicago police say.
Judge Deidre Dyer has detained Kenneth Snyder, 33, of Hoffman Estates to await trial.
Snyder’s car broke down on the expressway near Harlem Avenue on the afternoon of December 20 and he started walking to get help, according to a CPD report. It said he later told cops he “was angry vehicles would not stop for him as he was asking for help finding a gas station.”
His patience allegedly ran out in the 7500 block of West Higgins around 4:30 p.m. That’s when a 31-year-old woman called 911 and reported that he flipped her off and fired a shot at her as she drove by. No injuries were reported and the woman’s vehicle was not struck by the bullet, officials said.
Police said the woman kept an eye on Snyder and updated officers with his location until they arrived to take him into custody. They allegedly saw the butt of a handgun sticking out of Snyder’s bag, which led to the discovery of a loaded .45-caliber pistol and ammunition magazines. Officers also found a .45-caliber shell casing that allegedly matched the ammunition in the gun.
According to the CPD report, Snyder told cops that “after being cold and being ignored, he reached into his black bag and pulled the trigger of his weapon as an accidental discharge, but [the] victim related it was pointed towards her as she witnessed the muzzle flash.”
Snyder, who allegedly was licensed to own firearms but did not have a concealed carry permit, is also accused of having 14 suspected Xanax pills, three grams of suspected heroin, and three grams of suspected crack cocaine in separate vials in his jacket pocket.
Judge Dyer’s detention order said Snyder repeatedly interrupted the court and his attorneys during his detention hearing. She concluded that the “minimal stimulus” that allegedly caused Snyder to shoot at the woman made him too dangerous to release into the community.
He is charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm toward an occupied vehicle, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated assault by discharging a firearm, and three narcotics-related felonies.
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