SALEM, Ore. — A man was arrested Tuesday in Salem for a bias crime and assault after he allegedly shot at a moving car and then used a racial slur and punched the driver of the car when both men had pulled over to the side of the road.
At about 4:40 p.m. Tuesday, officers responded to a reported crash in the intersection of Lancaster Drive Northeast and Market Street Northeast.
According to Salem police, officers learned that Samuel Bailey Caster-Winegeart, 25, shot a gun at a moving SUV because he thought the SUV had hit his car.
After the driver of the SUV, who is Black, pulled over to the side of the road, Caster-Winegeart, who is white, pulled off the road, got out of his car, yelled a racial slur at the driver of the SUV and then punched him through a window that was partially rolled down, police said.
The driver of the SUV, 55, was taken to the hospital. Police said he had not been shot but was injured in the assault.
Caster-Winegeart was taken to the Marion County Jail. He faces charges of first-degree bias crime, fourth-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon or firearm, menacing, reckless endangering and second-degree criminal mischief.
The Oregon Department of Justice reports that hate crimes and bias incidents are on the rise in Oregon and across the country. If you believe you or someone you know has been been a victim of a bias crime or incident, you can call the non-emergency bias response hotline at 1-844-924-2427 or report it online. If you believe a crime has occurred and want it investigated, the DOJ says you should contact your local law enforcement agency.
