A routine red light in Gwinnett County reportedly turned into a near disaster when a Lawrenceville driver is accused of firing a gunshot at a father and his 16‑year‑old son after they honked for him to move. The shot missed, but the pair grabbed their phones, recorded the license plate, and helped police track down the suspect’s car, investigators say.
Gwinnett County police say the confrontation started the night of March 7 at Pleasant Hill Road and Arc Way, where the father and son were stopped behind a white Infiniti that did not move when the light turned green, according to WSB‑TV. The driver, identified as 33‑year‑old Alfredo Cabral Maria, allegedly stepped out of the car, made an obscene gesture, then got back in, fired a single round out of his window, and sped off, the police report states. Detectives say the victims’ cellphone video of the license plate later became a key piece of evidence, and investigators used it to connect the Infiniti to a Lawrenceville apartment complex, where a search warrant turned up a firearm and a spent shell casing in the trunk.
How Investigators Tracked The Car
To follow the Infiniti’s path from the intersection to the apartment complex, officers tapped into a growing high‑tech toolkit: a network of license‑plate readers and nearby camera feeds. Flock Safety, which supplies many of those license‑plate readers in Gwinnett, explains that its systems log plate numbers, vehicle make, and color, and make that data searchable for investigators, according to Flock Safety. Reporting in The Atlanta Journal‑Constitution notes the technology’s expanding footprint across the county.
Charges And What They Mean
Police booked Cabral Maria on aggravated assault and cruelty to children, both felony‑level charges under Georgia law. As outlined on Justia, using a deadly weapon or discharging a firearm from a vehicle toward a person can bump a simple assault up to aggravated assault. The cruelty to children statute, detailed on Justia, applies when a child is subjected to cruel or excessive physical or mental pain and carries its own serious penalties.
Court Action And What Comes Next
Gwinnett police say they secured warrants days after the March 7 incident and arrested Cabral Maria this week. A judge denied him bond, calling him a danger to the community, according to authorities who spoke with WSB‑TV. A department spokesperson stressed the risk to everyone on the road that night, saying firing a gun in the roadway is extremely dangerous. Prosecutors are now preparing the case for arraignment and potential indictment, and future court dates have not yet been publicly announced.
Anyone with video or additional information about the encounter at Pleasant Hill Road and Arc Way is asked to contact Gwinnett County police or submit tips through the county’s public‑safety channels. Gwinnett County lists reporting options and contact information for public‑safety agencies.
