Stefan Mercado, 24, pleaded not guilty Aug. 19 to felony attempted murder, assault with a firearm and carrying a loaded firearm in public after a shooting Aug. 12 on Highway 84. The shooting occurred about 5:28 p.m. west of Interstate 880 after two Tesla drivers allegedly engaged in "playing chicken" and stopped. A witness said Mercado threw a metal object at the other Tesla, the other driver approached Mercado's vehicle, and Mercado allegedly opened his door and shot him. The victim drove himself to a hospital with a gunshot wound. Witness photos of Mercado's vehicle and plate aided CHP investigators; Mercado was arrested Aug. 14 and released on $600,000 bail pending a preliminary examination.
NEWARK - A Santa Clara man has pleaded not guilty to charges he allegedly shot another man Aug. 12 in a road rage-related confrontation on Highway 84, according to authorities and court documents. The suspect, Stefan Mercado, 24, was arrested after California Highway Patrol investigators were provided key information by witnesses, including one who provided images of Mercado's vehicle and its license plate, according to court documents.
The shooting happened about 5:28 p.m. Aug. 12 on state Highway 84 west of Interstate 880. The California Highway Patrol responded to a report of a two-vehicle collision. No vehicles were found, but a hospital contacted the CHP, saying a man with a gunshot wound had come to the facility. Investigators determined the man was the victim in the shooting and had driven himself to the hospital.
According to court documents, a witness said both the man shot and Mercado had been driving Teslas on the highway and "had been playing chicken" in a road-rage fashion before both vehicles stopped on the highway. Authorities said the two men did not know each other. Another witness told the CHP that after the vehicles stopped, Mercado threw a metal object at the other Tesla, hitting its rear windshield.
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