Orem man arrested, accused of firing shot in Provo road rage case

PROVO — An Orem man was arrested after police say he fired a round during a road rage confrontation Thursday night.

Hamilton Molina Tabanico, 30, was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of attempted murder, aggravated assault, driving on a denied license, being a restricted person in possession of a firearm and not having an ignition interlock device.

The incident happened just after 10 p.m. near 300 South and 600 West in Provo when police say the occupants of an Durango SUV and the occupants of a Subaru sedan got into a road rage confrontation. Details about what started the confrontation were not immediately available.

“The occupants of both vehicles yelled at each other and the Dodge Durango drove off further down the road,” according to a police booking affidavit.

After the Durango had pulled over so the two occupants could discuss with each other what had happened, the Subaru pulled up. The occupants of the Subaru got out and confronted one of the men in the Durango, the affidavit states.

“There were three occupants in the Subaru. One of the occupants of the Subaru then brandished a firearm,” while continuing to confront one of the Durango’s occupants, the affidavit says.

Tabanico, the man with the gun, then pointed it at both occupants of the Durango, according to police. The Durango made a U-turn and began to drive off.

“The suspect with the firearm chased the vehicle for a moment and then fired a round from his firearm toward the leaving Durango,” the affidavit alleges.

As that was happening, another man ran up to the Durango and punched one of the occupants in the face, according to the arrest report.

The Durango occupants called 911. Investigators were able to collect surveillance video from the area and early Friday located the Subaru and pulled it over. The driver, Tabanico, was identified as the gunman, the affidavit says. Police learned that he was also on parole.