A 30-year-old Fort Worth man is behind bars after a road-rage dispute near Poolville escalated into gunfire on Tuesday afternoon, with the victim firing back and striking his vehicle before deputies and Weatherford police tracked him down. Thomas Earl Jones Jr. is accused of tailgating another driver, following him to a home, and firing a shot through the man's windshield during the confrontation.
The incident began around 2:24 p.m. near Poolville in Parker County, according to FOX 4 News. The victim drove to a home in the Poolville area, and Jones allegedly followed him there, shouting threats in front of the house before firing a shot that pierced the victim's front windshield.
The victim then retrieved a handgun and fired several return shots toward Jones' vehicle, striking it, though no injuries were reported from the exchange of gunfire. Under Texas law, individuals facing an imminent threat of unlawful deadly force at their home or vehicle have no duty to retreat and are presumed reasonable in using deadly force to defend themselves, according to FindLaw.
Chase Down FM 920 Ends in Weatherford
After the shooting, Jones fled along FM 920, a roughly 17-mile route that runs south from Poolville into Weatherford before ending near Mineral Wells Highway, per the Texas Department of Transportation. Weatherford police officers intercepted Jones near the 1800 block of Mineral Wells Highway, ending the pursuit that had crossed from rural Parker County sheriff's jurisdiction into city limits.
A search of Jones' vehicle turned up a disassembled 9mm handgun scattered throughout the interior. During questioning, the report notes that Jones admitted to following the victim, stopping at the home, and firing the shot, and he acknowledged he should not have acted as he did. Deputies say Jones had allegedly tailgated the other driver before the confrontation turned violent, expressing anger over the driving encounter.
Sheriff Calls Road Rage “Preventable”
Jones was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony, and is being held at the Parker County Jail on a $500,000 surety bond. Parker County Sheriff Russ Authier called road rage “needless and totally preventable,” underscoring that the sheriff's office prioritizes public safety on the county's rural roadways.
Under Texas Penal Code § 22.02(b) and § 12.33, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon carries a punishment range of two to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to the Law Offices of Tim Powers. Jones could also face enhanced exposure under a Texas law enacted in May 2025 that specifically targets shootings into or toward occupied vehicles during road-rage incidents, creating potential sentences ranging from five years to life in prison, as reported by The Trace.
Texas Leads the Nation in Highway Gunfire
That legislative push followed a decade-long analysis by The Trace covering 2014 through 2023, which found Texas led the nation in road-rage shootings, recording 741 gun-involved incidents that resulted in 146 deaths and more than 430 injuries. Nationally, research from Everytown for Gun Safety found road-rage shootings doubled between 2018 and 2023, with 483 people shot in 2023 alone — a victim wounded or killed roughly every 18 hours.
Victims of deliberate road-rage shootings also face financial hurdles beyond the criminal case. Standard Texas auto insurance policies explicitly exclude coverage for intentional acts, according to FOX 26 Houston, meaning victims generally must rely on their own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage to pay for bullet damage or medical costs rather than collecting from an attacker's policy.
This is not the first time a Parker County road-rage dispute has turned deadly. In a fatal shooting reported by Hoodline in January 2024, a driver was charged with murder following a collision and gunfire on Interstate 20 in Weatherford, a case that showed how quickly aggressive driving in the area can spiral into fatal violence.
