Trial begins for man accused of Norristown road rage

Calling it “a classic case of road rage,” a prosecutor alleged a private detective from Ambler brandished his handgun and impersonated a police officer while threatening a Norristown couple during a traffic altercation.

“He was angry that he was beeped at and passed. The defendant was not happy about that,” Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Laura Bradbury argued to a jury as the trial for Brian Wayne Bell got under way on Wednesday. “This is a classic case of road rage.”

Bradbury argued Bell, operating a three wheel Can Am Spider motorcycle, escalated a traffic altercation by pointing his Smith & Wesson .380-caliber firearm at Renaldo Lopez and his girlfriend Carol Vargas Santiago, who

were traveling in a Dodge Avenger, at 9:30 p.m. July 20, 2017, during a roadway encounter that began at Markley and Marshall streets and ended in the 1200 block of Astor Street in Norristown.

Bradbury alleged Bell also swerved his cycle toward Lopez’s vehicle, causing Lopez to take evasive action to avoid colliding.

“(Bell) was angry and he wasn’t going to let them get away with passing him. They were scared for their lives. They didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Bradbury, referring to the Norristown couple.

But defense lawyer Eric Winter argued to the jury that it was Bell who felt threatened when Lopez tried to force Bell’s cycle off the road during the encounter. Bell, a licensed private detective who was legally carrying his firearm, brandished the gun “in an effort to say, ‘get away from me,’” Winter argued during his opening statement to jurors.

“The point of this was to keep these people away from him,” Winter claimed, arguing Bell was “terrified for his life.” “This case is about justification. I submit to you he was justified in doing that.”

Winter revealed that Bell will testify during the trial before Judge William R. Carpenter.

Bell, 56, of the first block of Orange Avenue, Ambler, faces charges of simple assault, possessing an instrument of crime, recklessly endangering other persons and impersonating a public servant in connection with the alleged incident.

Santiago, 26, testified she and Lopez were traveling northbound on Markley Street, heading home from Walmart in King of Prussia, when they came upon a three wheel motorcycle that was traveling at about 5 mph. Santiago testified Lopez passed Bell’s slow moving cycle and got in front of Bell as the two northbound lanes merged into one lane.

Santiago and Lopez, 24, testified Bell later pulled his cycle alongside their vehicle, at times traveling north in the southbound lane of Markley Street, and swerved toward them and pointed a gun in their direction. “I ducked. I was afraid he was going to shoot us,” said Santiago, who was in the front passenger seat Lopez’s vehicle.

“I feared for our lives. You don’t know what to expect,” added Lopez.

As Bell allegedly followed the couple, Lopez turned onto West Wood Street and then turned onto the 1200 block of Astor Street where they lived. Santiago testified she called 911, got out of the vehicle and informed Bell she was calling the police.

“He said that he was one of them and pulled out a badge,” Santiago testified.

Bradbury argued as a private detective Bell had no police powers or arrest powers and used the badge to intimidate Lopez and Santiago. Bradbury argued that while Bell had a license to carry the firearm “he used it illegally” to try to intimidate the Norristown couple.

Lopez testified he did not swerve toward Bell’s cycle and did not try to run him off the road.

The defense called one character witness on Wednesday, a Collegeville man who said he worked with Bell and that Bell had a reputation for being nonviolent and law-abiding.

Bell remains free on bail during the trial. According to bail conditions Bell is to have no contact with the alleged victims, may not possess firearms and “may only be in Norristown for courtrelated matters.

“He was angry that he was beeped at and passed. The defendant was not happy about that. This is a classic case of road rage.” — Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Laura Bradbury