Man charged after threatening to assault mom, shoot baby during road rage incident

By Michaela Springer & Kody Fisher

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    NEW PALESTINE, Indiana (WISH) — A Rush County man was arrested in late April after police say he threatened a mom and her baby with a gun after a car crash in New Palestine, Indiana.

Jason Middleton, 45, faces preliminary charges of attempted rape, criminal confinement with a weapon, and kidnapping while armed with a deadly weapon for the April 28 incident.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Hancock County deputies were called to the area of U.S. 52 and County Road 100 West outside of New Palestine on a possible attempted abduction report.

There, deputies spoke with the female victim, who said she’d been driving out of New Palestine when a blue van started following her. She told police she feared getting hit by the van because it kept speeding up, tailgating her, then slowing down. She added that the driver, Middleton, appeared to be smoking and sweating, continuously scratching his face.

Eventually, she slowed down for a driver turning ahead of her, and was struck twice by the blue van.

After pulling over, Middleton approached her at her vehicle, using expletives to ask what happened. She told police she replied that he “hit (her) twice and (she has) a baby in the car.” While stopped, the woman called police to report the crash and give a vehicle description.

At some point, Middleton returned to his van to grab his insurance. The female driver did the same, exiting her car and standing on the passenger side to grab her information. When Middleton returned, the victim told deputies he asked if the baby was okay while standing very close to her, which made her nervous.

As she tried to move closer to the back of her car near her child, the affidavit says Middleton pulled a gun from his pocket and pointed it at her. The victim said Middleton told her “if she didn’t get in the van, he was going to rape her and shoot her baby.”

A physical fight broke out between the two, until the victim got ahold of the gun and pointed it toward Middleton. He retreated to his van and fled the scene.

Eyewitness Aaron Hurst told I-Team 8 he was driving to work when he saw the woman and Middleton struggling.

“The girl looked like she was trying to defend herself,” Hurst said. “I pulled over a quick as I could. As soon as I hopped out I could hear her screaming ‘He wants to kill my baby. He’s got a gun.’”

Shelby County deputies eventually tracked down Middleton’s van at his cousin’s property in Fountaintown, Indiana. Hancock County deputies then responded to the scene, who learned from the homeowner Middleton had texted him saying he “saw the police and was going to flee.”

Investigators found Middleton hiding in a yellow storage container on the property and took him into custody without incident.

During an interview with detectives, Middleton denied the victim’s statement, claiming she kept brake-checking him and was aggressive. He also did not indicate if he hit her car, only that he pulled over and grabbed his insurance card.

Middleton also claimed she was the one who pulled a gun on him and they physically fought so he could try to get the gun away from her. When police asked why did witnesses say they saw him with a gun, he said “that’s impossible” and the only thing he had on him was his insurance paperwork.

“He did not have a gun,” Middleton repeated to police.

Hurst said that is a lie, “Before he jumped in that van he had a hand gun. No doubt,” said Hurst.

According to the affidavit, Middleton further denied making sexual or threatening comments toward the victim and that he knew he should have called police and shouldn’t have fled the scene.

“Look on the bright side, I didn’t get shot,” Middleton said.

Middleton was arrested and booked into the Hancock County Jail. He was being held on a $500,000 bond.

Hurst is just glad he was around to help out.

“It was a blessing,” Hurst said. “Total right place right time.”

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