A Mahopac man accused of pointing a gun at a school bus driver for special needs students during a purported road rage incident on the Taconic State Parkway initially claimed the item he pointed was a cell phone before later acknowledging that it was a gun, according to court documents.
Michael Alarcon, 20, pleaded not guilty Wednesday, July 22, in Westchester County Court to felony charges of second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree menacing, endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, all misdemeanors.
The charges stem from claims by a driver for Astra Transportation that Alarcon pointed a gun and a green laser at him while they were southbound on the Taconic State Parkway around 8:30 am Feb. 4, 2026, in Mount Pleasant.
The driver reported the incident that morning at the state police barracks in Hawthorne.
He told an investigator that he was driving a bus monitor and three special needs students – two 3-year-olds and a 4-year-old – from Peekskill to a school in Scarsdale. When he changed lanes a blue Toyota Corolla sped up to close the gap and then pulled up alongside the bus. The Toyota driver made hand motions and pulled a gun from his waistband, pointing that and what appeared to be a green laser at him, the bus driver said.
He continued south on the Taconic while the Toyota veered off onto the Sprain Brook Parkway.
The bus driver got the car’s license plate and that evening state police pulled over the Toyota on the northbound Taconic. Police said he had a suspended driver’s license.
According to court documents filed with the indictment, Alarcon first told troopers at the scene that he had not been involved in any altercation and didn’t have a gun. But then he remembered an incident that morning, claiming a bus driver had given him the middle finger and he pointed his cell phone with its light on at the driver. He claimed to just be “messing around” with the driver.
Later that night at the police barracks, according to the documents, he acknowledged to an investigator that he had pointed a gun after the driver gave him the middle finger. He said he did not point the gun’s laser but rather a light on the gun.
Alarcon, who told police he was a lifeguard at a pool in Mamaroneck, said he bought the gun in the Bronx for $600 from someone he met on Telegram.
According to the Westchester District Attorney’s Office, police recovered a loaded Walther P22 .22-caliber handgun equipped with a green laser and weapon-mounted light from a duffel bag on the front passenger seat of the Toyota. The firearm’s serial number had been defaced.
District Attorney Susan Cacace called the incident “egregious”.
“The fact that the victims in this incident were special needs children only amplifies the recklessness,” she said in a statement.
Alarcon remains free on bail and is due back in court on Oct. 14.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Mahopac man indicted for brandishing gun at bus driver in road rage case
Reporting by Jonathan Bandler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jonathan Bandler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News | USA TODAY Network
