A Tucson man involved in two road rage incidents last year, including one where he shot at a car with two children inside, was sentenced to prison on Wednesday.
Pima County Superior Court Judge Javier Chon-Lopez sentenced Collin Primm to one year in prison after he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, non-dangerous and aggravated assault, and deadly weapon/dangerous instrument charges. He was also ordered to serve probation after he’s released from prison.
During Wednesday’s sentencing, Brett Shirly, who was driving the car Primm shot at, told the judge his family’s lives have been changed forever and that “people like this shouldn’t be out on the street.”
When asking the judge to impose the maximum sentence of two years, Bradley Roach, the prosecutor from the Pima County Attorney’s Office, said he couldn’t imagine what kind of anger Primm had that made him do this.
This could have “easily been a homicide case,” Roach said.
Primm also addressed the court, saying this incident was “extremely out of character for him” and he has taken the last year to better himself.
On April 14, 2022, Shirly and his two children, a 16-year-old and a 4-year-old, were driving south on Interstate 10 toward the Interstate 19 interchange when a dark colored SUV pulled up behind them and started to tailgate, an interim complaint filed in Pima County Justice Court said.
As Shirly moved into the slow lane in order to let the SUV pass, Primm, who was driving the SUV, pulled up next to him and started shouting. Shirly rolled down his window to show Primm that he had children in his car, the complaint said.
Primm tried to ram the vehicle off the road and shot one round at it, striking the rear driver’s side door where the 16-year-old was sitting and shattering the glass, the complaint said.
Shirly exited I-10 and called 911. Within several minutes, 911 received another call about a similar vehicle driving recklessly on I-19, the complaint said.
The second caller and his 15-year-old son told deputies that a vehicle was tailgating to the point where the driver couldn’t see the headlights of the SUV. Primm then cut him off and pulled out in front of him, the complaint said.
As both vehicles stopped at a stop sign near Pima Mine Road and I-19, the man pulled up to the side of the SUV to ask Primm why he was driving so recklessly. Primm pulled out a gun and pointed it at the driver and his 15-year-old son before taking off, the complaint said.
The next day, detectives were able to identify Primm as the owner of the SUV and arrested him.
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