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Staff Report
ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – In a dramatic turn of events early this morning, Monique Dashay Harrington, 43, from Ft. White, found herself in police custody following a tense road rage incident on I-75, where she allegedly brandished a firearm at another driver.
The unsettling episode unfolded around 11:17 p.m. on May 9, prompting Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies to rush to the scene at the 377-mile marker on I-75, just south of Williston Road, in response to reports of an armed confrontation.
Deputies caught up with the distressed victim at the 390-mile marker near NW 39th Avenue. They noted that she appeared visibly shaken and was perspiring heavily, clearly rattled by the ordeal.
According to the victim’s account, she was traveling northbound on I-75 when a black Jeep began to tailgate her aggressively. The driver of the Jeep reportedly flashed their headlights, urging her to change lanes. When she didn’t comply, the situation escalated with the Jeep driver allegedly engaging in road rage. The Jeep then maneuvered in front of her vehicle, slowing down deliberately. In response, the victim flashed her lights back. Tensions rose further when the Jeep pulled up alongside her car, and an object was hurled from the Jeep, striking her driver’s side door. Reacting in the heat of the moment, she admitted to retaliating by throwing an object back at the Jeep.
The victim said she tried to speed away from the Jeep, but it followed her, remaining alongside her vehicle, then the female passenger, who was wearing a red jacket, pointed a black or silver firearm out the window at her, so she called 911 while continuing her attempts to speed away from the Jeep.
Post Miranda, Harrington reportedly said she had been asleep in the passenger seat of the Jeep and was awakened when the driver became angry about a white sedan in front of them, which was swerving and brake-checking them and also threw a drink at their vehicle. Harrington reportedly said she rolled the window down and motioned toward the white sedan with a glass water bottle that has a silver cap, as if she were going to throw the bottle, but she did not. She reportedly admitted to having weapons in the car but denied brandishing them.
A search of the Jeep reportedly produced a black handgun in a small bag under the driver’s seat and a silver handgun in the glove box on the passenger side; a red jacket was found on the center console.
Harrington has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Her criminal history is unavailable; Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $40,000.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law