PORTLAND, Maine — A man arrested in Scarborough last month after a road rage incident in which hollow-point bullets allegedly were used has been charged with violating federal gun laws.
Sean Johnson, 32, of South Portland was charged in U.S. District Court with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Johnson, who has used aliases Thomas Butler and Wayne Sunderland, made his first court appearance on the charge June 9 before U.S. Magistrate Judge John H. Rich, according to information posted on the court’s electronic case filing system.
The defendant was not asked to enter a plea to the charge because he has not yet been indicted by a federal grand jury.
Johnson waived his right to a detention hearing and agreed to be held without bail, pending the outcome of his case.
He is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of a 2013 felony conviction in Cumberland County for unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs.
He was arrested by Scarborough police May 23 following a report of a road rage incident on Payne Road near the Christmas Tree Shop, according to a previously published report. The person who called 911 said the driver of a red Jeep Cherokee pointed a gun out the window and fired a shot at another car.
Police said the Jeep went south on Payne Road, the previous report said. The person who called police followed the Jeep and relayed directions to the dispatcher. The car that was shot at left the scene as well.
Witnesses told police the Jeep proceeded through a Scarborough neighborhood at a high rate of speed before stopping on Johnson Road, the complaint filed in federal court said. They also said the driver of the Jeep ran off into nearby woods, where he was found and arrested.
A police dog unit was brought to the scene to search for a gun because none was found on Johnson or in the Jeep, according to the complaint. A loaded Glock semi-automatic pistol was located buried under leaves about 30 feet from where the Jeep was parked.
The ammunition in the magazine and chamber of the gun was 9-millimeter, copper-jacketed, hollow point rounds, the complaint said.
Johnson is facing charges in state court with driving to endanger, reckless conduct with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and violation of probation.
Those charges could be dismissed after he is indicted by a federal grand jury.
If convicted of the federal gun charge, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.