(RepublicanNews.org) – A 40-year-old Air Force Sergeant was captured on camera pointing a gun at a 19-year-old woman and demanding to know if she wanted to “f***ing die” in an apparent outburst of road rage. First Sgt. Charles Bass III, who has served in the Air Force for 21 years, claimed that the 19-year-old driver, Shi’Anna Bamba, cut him off as he was driving through Surprise, Arizona. Bamba denies cutting him off, saying that she had not switched lanes at that point, and therefore could not have cut him off.
Bamba told reporters that she noticed Bass speed up and show her his middle finger. When they both stopped at a traffic light, she used her phone to record him and filmed him pointing his gun and shouting at her. Bamba, who had just dropped her younger siblings off at school, called her mother to tell her what had happened. She later reported the incident to the police and showed them the footage. The incident took place on December 5th, and the following day Bamba’s father saw Bass’s truck and reported the plates to police. Bass chose to turn himself into the police and cooperate with their investigation into the encounter.
When questioned, Bass told police that he suffered from PTSD and hypervigilance and attributed his behavior to these issues. He said that Bamba had been driving “erratically,” and he was unsure about what she might do next after seeing her roll her window down, although he added that he did not know why he pointed his gun at her a second time upon seeing that the driver was a young woman and unlikely to pose a threat.
Bass was arrested on December 15th and issued with multiple charges, including disorderly conduct with a weapon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and endangerment. In the state of Arizona, a class three felony such as aggravated assault with a deadly weapon brings an average sentence of 8.75 years for those found guilty.
Copyright 2024, RepublicanNews.org
