The Osceola County Sheriff's Office announced its made an arrest in a road rage-induced shooting Tuesday afternoon along Cypress Parkway.
Detectives had to go to the Miami area, but 30-year-old Josue Gabriel Astacio is now off the streets.
Thanks to round-the-clock detective work, Osceola investigators identified Astacio, who lives locally, as a suspect and tracked him to Hialeah, where his girlfriend drove him. That's where he was apprehended without incident at a residence; after he was taken into custody a large amount of cash and drugs were found in his possession.
"It was great detective work," Sheriff's spokesperson Kim Montes said.
Pending extradition back to Osceola County, the Osceola Sheriff’s Office has an active warrant for charges of attempted murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle and shooting into an occupied vehicle. Charges are likely against Astacio's girlfriend as an accomplice, Sheriff Chris Blackmon said.
Tuesday afternoon, at the intersection of Cypress Parkway and Marigold Avenue, Astacio reportedly fired three rounds from a handgun into the passenger side of a Ford Expedition. One of those rounds struck a 41-year-old male, in the face; he was last reported
in stable condition. Another round grazed the driver. The vehicle was driven to HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital, where both received medical treatment, and hospital staff alerted police.
Blackmon reminded residents that two drivers who couldn't handle their emotions led to one getting arrested and another getting the occupants of its vehicle shot.
"I would say to people driving around to avoid road rage incidents, just because of this," he said. "Let them merge in or whatever. You don't want to be that innocent person jockeying in place in a lane. The two victims are lucky to be alive."
State Attorney Monique addressed the road rage issue in a statement Thursday.
"I want to urge every driver to pause, take a breath, bring the temperature down, and make safety the priority. Most of us will feel frustration behind the wheel at some point but how we respond matters. Practicing self-control and de-escalation is not just about avoiding a traffic ticket; it is about preventing tragedies," she said. "At the end of the day, it does not matter who cut in front of you or who got the last word at a stoplight. None of it is worth losing your life or changing someone else’s forever. These incidents don’t just impact the people behind the wheel. It ripples outward, affecting families, neighborhoods, and our entire community. We cannot and will not normalize this kind of behavior."
