HAGERSTOWN - A Baltimore man was convicted of attempted second-degree murder in Washington County Circuit Court Thursday in connection with a June 19, 2006, road-rage incident on Interstate 70.
Jimmie Lee Johnson, 36, also was convicted of first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, carrying a handgun in a vehicle, use of a handgun during the commission of a violent crime and possession of marijuana.
Washington County Circuit Judge Donald E. Beachley presided over the trial.
The road rage occurred when Johnson, driving a Chevrolet Suburban, and Kyle Hitchcock, driving a Chrysler PT Cruiser, were both eastbound on Interstate 70.
Johnson fired a 9 mm handgun at Hitchcock's PT Cruiser.
Johnson's defense attorney, William R. Buie, mounted a self-defense case against the charges.
Johnson testified that Hitchcock had been driving aggressively, made an obscene gesture and directed a racial slur at him.
"It reached a point where I couldn't take it anymore. My life was in danger," Johnson testified.
