Man accused of pointing a handgun at a woman during a road rage incident near Farmington

• Jessie Leslie is accused of pointing a handgun at a woman while following her on U.S. Highway 64 east of Farmington
• He is accused of fourth-degree felony aggravated assault
• Leslie was booked and released on Aug. 31 from the San Juan County Adult Detention Center

FARMINGTON — San Juan County resident Jessie Leslie, 26, is accused of pointing a handgun at a woman for several minutes while driving along U.S. Highway 64 east of Farmington on the night of Aug. 30 during a road rage incident, according to the probable cause statement.

He is accused of a fourth-degree felony count of aggravated assault, according to the criminal complaint.

Mary Weber, Leslie's attorney, did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.

A San Juan County Sheriff's Office deputy investigated the case of a woman who called dispatch around 6:55 p.m. Aug. 30 and reported that the driver of a vehicle behind her was pointing a gun at her.

She spoke to the deputy at the Lee Acres Substation on County Road 5500.

The woman was in her vehicle at the intersection of Browning Parkway and U.S. Highway 64, when she merged onto the eastbound lanes of the highway.

She was approaching the area where the road merges into one lane due to construction when a red passenger car allegedly driven by Leslie tried to get in front of her and cut her off, which she didn't allow.

The woman told the deputy he used an obscene hand gesture toward her and then she saw Leslie stick a handgun out the driver's side window and point it at her for several minutes.

The defendant allegedly pulled the firearm back inside the vehicle when they approached the intersection of Andrea Drive and U.S. Highway 64.

The vehicles continued east and stopped at the intersection of County Road 350 and U.S. Highway 64.

Leslie allegedly got out of his vehicle, started walking toward the woman's vehicle then started to yell at her, asking if she wanted to "start something," according to court documents.

She then turned south onto County Road 5500 toward the sheriff's office substation and Leslie continued east on U.S. Highway 64.

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A traffic stop was performed on Leslie's vehicle in Bloomfield.

Leslie denied pointing the gun at her but admitted to having a road rage incident with the woman and getting out of his vehicle to yell at her. Leslie admitted to having a handgun in the vehicle.

The vehicle was towed from the scene to the Sheriff's Office impound lot to obtain and execute a search warrant.

The probable cause statement does not mention a weapon being recovered.

Leslie was booked and released on Aug. 31 from the San Juan County Adult Detention Center.

His preliminary hearing is set for the morning of Sept. 10 in Aztec Magistrate Court.

Joshua Kellogg covers breaking news for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4627 or via email at jkellogg@daily-times.com.