COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - An Ohio man who fired a handgun at a semitrailer during a Trump vehicle rally reacted out of fear for his life after the truck driver taunted participants and hit his vehicle, his lawyer said Tuesday as an assistant prosecutor declared the case “severely undercharged.”
Todd Crawford, 58, had his bond set at $250,000 on Tuesday in Franklin County Municipal Court, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
Crawford appeared in court by video from a Franklin County jail, but has since posted bond and is no longer in custody, his attorney Jon J. Saia said.
On Saturday, Hilliard police said a semitrailer driver on Interstate I-270 North called emergency dispatchers to report that another driver in a pickup had fired a weapon toward his vehicle following an altercation between the two drivers. No one was injured.
After initially driving away, Crawford turned himself into police, the newspaper reported. He is charged with discharge of a firearm over a highway, a third-degree felony.
In the hearing Tuesday, Assistant Prosecutor Megan Davis argued for a high bond in part because she said Crawford was “severely undercharged” for firing a gun out of a vehicle, the newspaper reported.
Saia told the Associated Press, “I think that the facts are going to be much different than initially thought and initially reported.”
“The semitruck actually struck Mr. Crawford’s vehicle once,” Saia said, “And then, when he attempted to get the attention of the driver, there was an attempt to run Mr. Crawford off the road.”
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 13.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.