Man accused of threatening 2 with firearm at commuter lot during road rage incident

A Southington man was arrested and charged for allegedly brandishing a firearm during a road rage incident at a Waterbury commuter lot Tuesday morning, state police said.

Troopers assigned to Troop A in Southbury responded to an Interstate 84 commuter parking lot at Exit 23 in Waterbury around 6:36 a.m. on Tuesday for a report of an incident involving a male who allegedly brandished a firearm, according to the Connecticut State Police.

Troopers met with two complainants who alleged that a man brandished a firearm in the commuter lot after a road rage-type incident. The first complainant told state police they were at the commuter parking lot waiting for the second complainant when they saw the second complainant’s pickup truck enter the commuter lot, state police said.

According to both complainants, a black Mercedes E550, with a Connecticut registration plate, drove into the lot immediately after the pickup truck. The two then alleged that a man exited the Mercedes and began yelling that the pickup driver “had passed his companion’s vehicle in an unsafe manner and almost caused a collision,” according to state police.

The pickup driver told state police that before entering the commuter lot, the Mercedes had allegedly cut their vehicle off in the area of Union Avenue and Hamilton Avenue, forcing the pickup driver to come to a stop to avoid a collision, state police said. The pickup driver then alleged that the man began yelling and gesturing for them to drive into the commuter lot, according to state police.

Both complainants told state police that during their interactions with the man, he continued to yell and allegedly pulled a silver handgun out of his coat pocket, pointing it toward the ground, causing them to fear for their safety, state police said.

The complainants said they told the man that they were contacting police and he then “put the handgun back into his pocket, reentered the Mercedes, and drove out of the parking lot,” according to state police.

One of the two complainants told police they took photos of the man, his Mercedes and its license plate. The photos were given to investigating troopers, who identified the registered owner of the vehicle as 46-year-old Gentjan Korcari of Southington, state police said.

Troopers were unable to locate Korcari in Waterbury, according to state police. They were able to contact him by phone a short time later, and he agreed to meet with troopers at the I-84 Exit 26 commuter lot in Cheshire, state police said.

According to state police, Korcari arrived at the commuter lot driving a white Chevrolet pickup truck. He told troopers he and a companion were traveling in separate vehicles on Hamilton Avenue and both vehicles were in the center lane.

“According to Korcari, a pickup truck was in the left lane to turn left, but when the traffic signal turned green, the pickup truck drove straight ahead instead of turning left, nearly striking his companion’s car and allegedly striking his Mercedes E550,” state police said.

Korcari told troopers he told the driver of the pickup truck to pull into the commuter parking lot. When they arrived in the lot, Korcari alleged that several individuals approached his car and one was yelling at him, according to state police.

Korcari told troopers he felt threatened and pulled his handgun from his jacket pocket but did not completely remove it, state police said.

Korcari described his handgun to state police as silver in color. During the investigation, troopers reportedly learned that Korcari no longer had the firearm on him or inside of his vehicle but had brought it home after the incident, according to state police.

Based upon the information, Korcari was placed under arrest and transported to Troop A, where he was processed and charged with first-degree threatening with a firearm and second-degree breach of peace.

Troopers also seized the firearm as evidence, state police said.

Korcari was released on a $40,000 non-surety bond and is scheduled for arraignment at Waterbury Superior Court on April 24.