Road rage accused has history of violent assault
Court documents filed against a man who had his car seized by police after an alleged road rage incident reveal new details about the case, as well as the man’s record of violence on the road.
The affidavit, filed by the arresting officer and obtained by CBC News, identify Justin Timothy Mack, 25, as the accused driver.
Police say a man accused Mack of using his GMC Yukon Denali in an attempt to force him off Terwillegar Drive in April.
According to the affadavit, the alleged victim told police that he was behind Mack’s SUV, which was driving erratically, hitting the curb and travelling at half the posted speed limit.
When the man tried to pass the SUV, he says Mack appeared to start throwing garbage at his vehicle. Mack was allegedly yelling at the driver to pull over so that Mack could “kick [his] ass.”
The victim said he tried to first slow down, then speed up to escape the SUV but Mack kept pace. The Yukon then allegedly swerved at the man’s vehicle in an effort to force him off the road.
The driver said he was able to snap a photo of the SUV’s license plate, which caused Mack to threaten him a final time before taking off.
Mack was arrested on July 31 and faces charges including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, assault, criminal harassment and breach of probation.
His vehicle was also seized under the province’s civil forfeiture law, usually used to take property used in drug crimes.
Police said Mack posed a “clear threat to public safety,” referring to a number of other road rage accusations in his past.
According to the document obtained by CBC, Mack had twice been convicted in two other road rage cases and was still serving probation for one of them when the April assault allegedly occurred.
In 2005, Mack was convicted of assault of a man who was in relationship with his ex-girlfriend.
Mack stopped behind the man’s car at an intersection and approaching the driver door. He then reached into the window and punched the driver five or six times in the face before the victim drove off.
Mack then gave chase, forcing the man to stop before going back to hit him several more times before driving off.
Less than an hour later, Mack and two others found the man again, dragged him from his vehicle by the legs and started beating him.
The victim received a broken arm, as well as injuries to his back, face and ribs.
The second conviction came after an attack in July 2011. Mack was the passenger in his girlfriend’s Mercedes which came to a stop behind a vehicle in a construction zone.
Mack approached the driver of the vehicle and, in front of the driver’s wife and three children, pulled him from the vehicle and punched him twice in the face, breaking the man’s nose.
He then tried to remove the license place from his girlfriend’s vehicle before the pair drove away.
In April 2013, he was convicted of assault and mischief in that beating and received a 24-month suspended sentence.
The affidavit also listed seven other road rage incidents where Mack was accused, but never charged.
With files from the CBC's Janice Johnston
