Police: R.I. man charged with shooting car in road rage incident arraigned

A Rhode Island man was arrested on felony assault and weapons charges Monday after he reportedly opened fire on a driver in a road rage incident and had illegal possession of drugs and firearms in his home, Cranston, Rhode Island police say.

43-year-old Michael Sylvester has been charged with cultivating marijuana and two counts of possessing a large-capacity feeding device. In Massachusetts, Franklin Police plan to add several felony assault and weapons charges as well.

Police say that a driver made an abrupt turn in front of Sylvester Friday night at approximately 5 p.m. on a road in Franklin before Sylvester sped up and fired several shots at the car. Another car was also hit with gunfire, and nobody was injured during the incident.

Franklin Police Department detectives, the Bellingham Police Department, and Massachusetts State Police, identified Sylvester’s car and found it at his residence in Cranston. Franklin police received a warrant, and on Monday morning, police reportedly arrived at Sylvester’s home and arrested him without incident. They searched the house and found “three handguns, a shotgun, ammunition, and several marijuana plants,” the Cranston Police Department said in a statement on Facebook.

Franklin police plan to charge the 43-year-old with armed assault with intent to murder, seven counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, three counts of malicious destruction of property over $1,200, two counts of discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, carrying a loaded firearm without a license, and unlawfully possessing ammunition.

Sylvester was arraigned Tuesday in District Court in Warwick, R.I., and charged with cultivating marijuana and two counts of possessing a large-capacity feeding device. According to WPRI, his bail was set at $200,000 with double surety on the fugitive from justice charge, and $10,000 with surety on the other charges.

Sylvester has been ordered to remain in Rhode Island until he has posted bail or until attorneys reach an agreement and the Cranston resident will likely return to court for a special review next week.

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