A Phelps man has been charged following a New York State Police investigation into a road rage shooting that injured a woman in the Town of Arcadia last month.
Benjamin Lead, 32, surrendered to State Police investigators on June 30 after being identified as the suspect in the June 17 shooting.
According to State Police, troopers responded at approximately 8:53 p.m. on June 17 to a report of a shooting involving two vehicles. Investigators say the victims were traveling west on State Route 31 after leaving a business in the Village of Newark when another vehicle began following them.
Police allege the suspect continued following the victims onto Whitbeck Road and then Stebbins Road, where a single gunshot was fired into their vehicle.
The bullet shattered the rear windshield, traveled through the passenger compartment, grazed the driver’s headrest, and exited through the front windshield. The female driver suffered a laceration to her right forearm and was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital for treatment.
As part of the investigation, State Police executed search warrants on June 18 at residences in the Village and Town of Phelps. Investigators recovered a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield .40-caliber handgun, ammunition, and additional evidence.
Lead has been charged with first-degree criminal use of a firearm, first-degree attempted assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Following his arraignment, Lead was released from the Wayne County Jail.
The investigation was conducted by members of the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Troop E Forensic Identification Unit and the Troop E K-9 Unit.
As with all criminal cases, the charges are accusations, and Lead is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
