Man charged with pointing gun at vehicle's occupants

By Joe Johnson

An Athens man reportedly was arrested Friday after he allegedly pointed a gun at occupants of another vehicle at an eastside intersection.

According to an Athens-Clarke County police report, a 57-year-old man reported that he was driving in the left lane of Lexington Road with a pickup truck tailgating him at about 5:50 p.m.

When the Danielsville Road resident stopped for a red light at Gaines School Road, the pickup pulled alongside his SUV in the right lane and the driver – later identified as Kenneth Edward Stratford, 26, of Lindmar Court – rested a handgun on the truck’s window trim so that its barrel was pointed at the SUV’s passenger window, according to the report.

Both the SUV’s driver and passenger said they were afraid that Stratford was going to shoot them, the report noted. A 2-year-old girl was also in the vehicle.

When the SUV pulled into a shopping plaza on Gaines School Road so that the driver could call 911, Stratford allegedly followed and after parking his truck walked toward the SUV with a bulge in his pocket that the SUV’s driver believed was a gun, according to the report, but when Stratford saw the SUV’s driver was on the phone got back in his truck and drove away.

The SUV’s driver briefly followed Stratford’s truck to get its tag number and police conducted a traffic stop on the suspects truck on Lexington Road, according to the report.

A gun was located in the pickup and the other motorist positively identified Stratford as the person who pointed the gun, according to the report.

Stratford was arrested on three counts of aggravated assault, and also charged with DUI and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

As of Monday afternoon, he continued to be held at the county jail without bail being set.