Troopers: Aggravated Driver Pointed Gun At Woman, Released On Unsecured Bond

Smyrna- The Delaware State Police have arrested 22-year-old William E. Draper Jr., after a road rage incident led to him displaying a handgun, according to Public Information Officer, Master Corporal Melissa Jaffe.

Jaffe said the incident occurred on January 28, 2020, at approximately 11:30 a.m., when Troopers made contact with a 25-year-old female victim in reference to a road rage incident that occurred on DuPont Highway in the area of Garrison Lake in Smyrna.

The victim reported that while she was traveling southbound on DuPont Highway in the left lane, she observed a black Ford Escape attempting to switch into her lane. Due to traffic, the victim was unable to move out of the vehicle’s way which seemed to aggravate the male operator, said Jaffe.

When the victim looked over at the operator, he gave her the middle finger and pointed what appeared to be a black handgun at the victim, according to Jaffe. The victim was able to make a left turn in the center median to go in the opposite direction. There were no injuries as a result of this incident.

Through further investigations, Troopers identified the operator of the Ford Escape as William E. Draper Jr., said Jaffe Draper was contacted in the parking lot of Royal Farms in Cheswold. Upon contact with Draper, Troopers recovered a loaded black Glock 22, semi-automatic handgun which was located on the dashboard of his vehicle.

Draper was taken into custody without incident and transported back to Troop 9 where he was charged with the following:

Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony
Aggravated Menacing

Draper was arraigned before the Justice of the Peace Court and released on $6000.00 unsecured bond.

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