WESTMINSTER MAN SENTENCED TO SERVE 8 YEARS FOR SECOND DEGREE ASSAULT COMMITTED DURING “ROAD RAGE” INCIDENT.
Michael Lawrence Hill, 34 years old, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with all but 8 years suspended followed by 5 years of supervised probation by Circuit Court Judge Richard R. Titus at a hearing on Friday, January 12, 2024. Hill was previously found guilty on November 29, 2024, after a two-day jury trial for an assault that occurred on February 23, 2023 near Main and Bond Streets in Westminster after Hill became upset with the victim for driving past his double-parked vehicle.
The victim and his wife testified at trial that after they drove past Hill’s double-parked SUV, he drove after them and then passed them and slammed on his brakes, forcing the victim to stop his truck. Hill then exited his vehicle, approached the driver’s side window, and then spit in the face of the victim, punched him in the face, and then pulled him out of the vehicle. Once the victim was out of his truck, Hill continued to pummel him, causing him to fall to the ground, at which point Hill kicked the victim. Hill then got back into the vehicle and drove off. The victim followed Hill while his wife, who was in the passenger seat, called 911. Before police could arrive on scene, Hill again slammed on his brakes, exited his vehicle, approached the victim’s truck, and threatened to stab the victim in the neck. Using the description of Hill’s SUV and the license plate number given to them by the victim, police were quickly able to find and stop Hill’s SUV, at which point they found what appeared to be blood on his clothing. When questioned by officers, Hill admitted he had a knife.
The Office of the State’s Attorney for Carroll County was represented by Assistant State’s Attorneys Karla R. Goldman and Brian Barth. Various members of the Westminster Police Department responded to the scene and conducted the investigation. Sentencing guidelines recommended a term of imprisonment between 4 and 8 years. Judge Titus, in handing out a sentence in excess of the guidelines, remarked that he was personally stunned by what is happening on the roads, and there was no explanation why Hill beat down the victim whom he did not know for no other reason than that the victim passed Hill. Further, Judge Titus noted that Hill doubled down and threated the victim with a weapon. Judge Titus also commented that when people take things into their own hands on the side of the road, the court system does not matter to those individuals and thus cannot act.
Carroll County State’s Attorney Haven Shoemaker commented, “the stiff sentence handed out by Judge Titus should serve as a stern warning that acts of road rage will not be tolerated in Carroll County, and that folks who witness dangerous driving should not take matters into their own hands but report it to the police.”
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The information above is from a PRESS RELEASE from the Office of the State’s Attorney for Carroll County on January 12, 2024.
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