HOWELL, Mich. (AP) - A man accused in a fatal Michigan road rage shooting and the man he allegedly killed both had been involved in prior road rage incidents, records show.
Martin Zale, 69, is charged with open murder in the Sept. 2 fatal shooting of Derek Flemming. Zale also was involved in a non-fatal road rage incident in 2008, the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus of Howell reported.
Meanwhile, records show that Flemming, 43, had a history with law enforcement for allegedly making threats to shoot anyone who came on his property and was shoved in a prior road-rage incident.
Mort Meisner, who spoke on behalf of Flemming's widow, said past incidents didn't warrant Flemming's death.
"That really has nothing to do with the fact that he was shot dead, cold-blooded ... by a guy, a crazed man with a gun," Meisner said Tuesday.
Prosecutor William Vailliencourt and defense attorney Melissa Pearce have declined to say how past incidents might affect the case. Pearce has said she will argue at the trial that Zale acted in self-defense.
The newspaper used records obtained under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act for its report. Zale, of Livingston County's Marion Township, wrote in a November 2008 statement for the Livonia Police Department about an alleged road-rage incident.
"He and I were both out of our cars yelling at each other, and he suddenly turned," Zale wrote. "I thought he was about to swing at me.
"I swung and slapped him on the side of his face. I regret this ever happening and am glad that he was not hurt," Zale added. "I believe that I learned a valuable lesson and will try not to let things like this bother me."
According to 16th District Court records, Zale is wanted on an outstanding warrant for assault and battery for that Nov. 7, 2008, incident. The police report described the confrontation with a then-37-year-old Livonia man.
In this month's case, Amy Flemming has told police that her husband was shot in the head after getting out of his vehicle to ask why Zale was driving aggressively. Witnesses told investigators that Derek Flemming wasn't armed when he approached and didn't make verbal threats.
The shooting happened in Genoa Township, about 45 miles west-northwest of Detroit.
In an earlier case in Livingston County, Derek Flemming told deputies that he "grew frustrated" with a driver in front of him, according to records. He told police that he honked his horn several times and that the other driver eventually "boxed him in," so he got out of his vehicle, leaving his wife inside.
According to the report, the other driver allegedly pushed Derek Flemming, who fell to the ground, landing on his back and hitting his head.
"The incident did happen," Meisner said. "It was verified in the police report. Derek was shoved down, and that really has nothing to do with the fact that he was shot dead."
Meanwhile, two separate sheriff's reports indicate that deputies were called to the Flemming family's Howell-area home twice in September 2012 when Derek Flemming became upset that workers affiliated with pipeline company Enbridge were on his property.
Published: Thu, Sep 18, 2014
