HOPE, Arkansas–A Tennessee man who allegedly pointed a pistol at a Texarkana man while traveling along Interstate-30 near Hope in May has been charged with aggravated assault and driving while intoxicated by officials in Hempstead County.
Jared Wesley Holmberg, 35, was stopped shortly before 4:30 p.m. May 8 by an Arkansas State Police trooper after a Texarkana man driving west on I-30 called 911 to report that a man in a white SUV had pointed a gun at him, according to a probable cause affidavit. The Texarkana man reported that Holmberg “seemed to be getting angrier” as he was “slamming on the brakes” after he had passed the Texarkana man several times on the roadway.
Holmberg allegedly pointed a pistol at the Texarkana man as the two were driving “side by side” on the highway. The trooper waited near the 25 mile marker for the Toyota SUV that had been reported and caught sight of the vehicle several minutes later.
After pulling the SUV over, the trooper noticed a pistol with a black rubber handle sitting in a case that covered the frame “on a kitchen appliance in the front passenger floorboard,” the affidavit said.
The trooper also noticed the odor of alcohol and a “large empty beer can” sitting next to the weapon. Holmberg allegedly failed field sobriety tests and submitted to a breath test that showed a blood alcohol level of .14, well above the .08 limit at which drivers are considered legally impaired.
Holmberg faces up to six years in prison, a fine up to $10,000, or both, if found guilty of aggravated assault for pointing a firearm at the man from Texarkana. If convicted of DWI, Holmberg could receive up to a year in a county jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both.
Holmberg is currently free on a $3,500 bond. He is scheduled to appear in Hempstead County circuit court next month.
