Family of man killed in Tucson road rage shooting files wrongful death claim

The family of a man shot to death in a Tucson road rage confrontation in March has filed a wrongful death claim against the alleged shooter and his wife, court records show.

Jeffrey Honer, 47, a doctor, was fatally shot by Jason Jameson, 41, on March 15 after a traffic confrontation on Tucson’s far northeast side, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. The department has said Honer was unarmed and that Jameson told deputies he shot in self-defense.

Jameson was booked into the Pima County jail shortly after and is facing a second-degree murder charge. He is free on bond.

Attorney Carlo Mercaldo is representing Alyssa Honer, the widow, in a wrongful death claim filed earlier this month in Pima County Superior Court against Jameson and his wife, Ekaterina Jameson.

“What our investigation has revealed is that it was Mr. Jameson who struck Dr. Honer and Dr. Honer was not a threat, certainly not a threat of imminent death or physical harm, and was actually retreating when he was shot by Mr. Jameson,” Mercaldo said.

A claim is a precursor to a lawsuit. Jameson has 20 calendar days from April 17 to respond to the complaint, court records show.

Meanwhile, a preliminary hearing in the separate criminal case is set for Monday.

The incident According to Mercaldo, Honer was traveling that Friday from one patient’s home to the next to perform wound care treatment along with two nurses. Honer and the nurses were traveling in three separate vehicles, with Honer’s vehicle in the middle between the two nurses’ vehicles.

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Near North Houghton and East Snyder roads, the three encountered Jameson, who turned hostile towards them, according to the claim. He “became enraged” when the caravan missed a turn and attempted to re-route all of them, proceeding to speed past the three vehicles, arrive in front of them and crawl down to less than five miles per hour in a 45-mph zone, it says.

Eventually all four vehicles stopped and Honer got out to approach Jameson while the two nurses stayed in their cars. Jameson was seen striking Honer with a closed fist, after which Honer turned to walk away and return to his car, according to the law firm’s investigation and its interviews with one of the nurses.

At this point, Jameson shot Honer in the back, the family’s claim says. Jameson and the two nurses attempted to administer aid to Honer, but the bullet, which exited through Honer’s neck, killed him, the document says.

The complaint

The family’s claim filed last week accuses Jameson of negligence and wrongful death.

“It’s our perspective that Mr. Jameson did not act reasonably under the circumstances, in fact, was completely unreasonable and acted recklessly and should have known better, frankly,” said Mercaldo.

“Dr. Honer had a full life ahead of him and a very bright future that was cut short completely unnecessarily,” said Mercaldo. “(He’s left) behind a wife who’s absolutely distraught about what has happened.”