PORT ST. LUCIE – A woman with children in her vehicle was arrested over the weekend in what police described as a “road rage” case when she was accused of pulling a pistol on other motorists, a police spokesperson said.
Nicolle Marie Peith, 43, was jailed on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill following the Saturday incident in the area of Northwest University and Northwest California boulevards in St. Lucie West.
Officer Brittany Holly, Port St. Lucie Police spokesperson, said Monday that Peith indicated she was driving a Nissan sport utility vehicle “at a lower rate of speed than what was posted … because there was a vehicle in front of the suspect that was going slower.”
“The vehicle behind her, our victims, allegedly were honking the horn at her,” Holly said.
Kyleigh Pinon, 21, of Okeechobee, said she and her girlfriend were in the vehicle and were headed to a food event at Clover Park.
“The lady was going about like 10 under the speed limit, and she looked very angry, so I’m guessing, maybe she was just having a bad day and was upset,” Pinon said Monday. “I went to pass her and she went and rolled down her window and waved her gun and … ran us off the side of the road.”
Pinon got back on the road, and said they called law enforcement.
“She’s still waving her weapon out the window, acting like she was about to point it back towards us and shoot us,” Pinon said.
She said the 911 operator told her to get the license plate.
Eventually, Pinon said the woman got out and pointed the weapon at the front of their windshield.
“She was like, ‘Do you want me to (expletive) shoot you guys?” Pinon said. “My girlfriend was like, ‘We’re on the phone with the cops right now,’ and then the cops were telling me to go to somewhere safe away from her.”
Pinon said a number of officers arrived.
“We never pulled out a weapon; we never cussed at her; said nothing to her,” she said. “The only time we said something was whenever we said we’re calling the police.”
Holly said Peith believed the women were following her, but the women indicated they they were headed to a nearby event at Clover Park.
Holly said Peith indicated she brandished a firearm, a Glock handgun.
Holly said Peith had children with her.
“She did say that she was on her way to drop children off at a sleepover,” Holly said.
Holly suggested motorists try to de-escalate any “road rage” type incidents.
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“Don’t engage,” she said. “Call 911, provide plate, make, model of vehicle, and we can handle it from there.”
It wasn’t immediately clear Monday whether Peith had obtained legal representation in the case.
Pinon said they ended up making it to the food event.
“We’re not going to let her ruin our day, we’re going to go and continue our plans, and we had a great time,” Pinon said.
Peith was released Saturday from the St. Lucie County Jail on $10,000 bond, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: ‘Road rage’ case involving handgun results in arrest in Port St. Lucie
Reporting by Will Greenlee, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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