A couple battled a man with a knife in a road rage incident in The Villages.
Grant Mitchell Patterson, 28, of Belleview is facing a felony charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after stabbing another driver near his rib cage during the road rage incident Wednesday night on County Road 466 at Buena Vista Boulevard, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
Patterson had been driving a green Ford pickup at about 9 p.m. and was swerving in and out of traffic, the arrest report said. A man driving another vehicle rolled down the window and shouted at Patterson. This reportedly enraged Patterson who got out of his truck with a knife in his hand. The other driver also got out of his vehicle. A woman traveling with the other man yelled at Patterson to put the knife down. She got out of the vehicle and attempted to take the knife away from Patterson, who shoved her. This angered the man with whom she had been traveling and “the argument escalated,” the report said. Patterson stabbed the man during the course of the argument. A witness called 911 as Patterson was climbing back into his truck.
The stabbing victim was transported to Ocala Regional Medical Center.
A criminal history check revealed Patterson had been convicted of battery in 2012 in Cherokee County, Georgia.
The Michigan native was taken into custody and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. He was released after posting $12,000 bond.
