Md. Man Gets 4 Years In Alexandria Road-Rage Shooting: Report

ALEXANDRIA, VA — A Maryland man accused of shooting a woman during a racially charged road rage incident last summer was found guilty Friday of unlawful wounding and sentenced to four years in prison, according to a media report. An Alexandria jury also found Ernest Stickell, 59, not guilty of attempted malicious wounding in the July 19 incident, WRC-TV Channel 4 reported.

Stickell shot Dejonte Holt, 33, of Bladensburg, Md., in the neck and shoulder during the July 19 confrontation on an Alexandria street, say media reports. Holt was driving her boyfriend, Ricardo Jennings, to work.

Holt and Jennings are black and Stickell is white. Police said that Stickell, driving a white van, twice cut off Holt's SUV on the Beltway in morning rush-hour traffic.

Both vehicles exited onto the Eisenhower Connector, where the couple stopped and got out of their vehicle to confront Stickell. In a trial at Alexandria's city courthouse, Jennings testified Wednesday that Stickell called him the N-word, pulled a gun and opened fire, striking Holt.

Stickell, who is from Mechanicsville, Md., said he fired his gun in a moment of panic and acted in self-defense, NBC4 reported.

He fired two more shots and then drove off, Jennings testified. Holt eventually recovered from her injuries, but bears emotional scars, NBC4 reported.

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