Suspect identified in Nacogdoches County road rage shooting

NACOGDOCHES COUNTY, Texas (KTRE) - A Tyler man admitted to firing a gun used to shoot a motorcycle rider in Douglass, according to an affidavit.

Layten Bradley Dafft, 19, was held Thursday at the Nacogdoches County Jail on bonds totaling $350,000 for three counts charging him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to jail records.

On Oct. 14, Nacogdoches County deputies were dispatched to a reported gunshot victim in the 16000 block of State Highway 21 West, where a person reported a female motorcycle rider was shot in the back, according to an affidavit.

Paramedics rushed the woman to an area hospital, where she remains in the intensive care unit, according to a press release.

The motive behind the shooting appeared to be a road rage altercation, according to the release.

According to an affidavit obtained after Dafft’s arrest, a verbal conflict occurred after Dafft pulled out between two motorcycles traveling westbound near the post office in Douglass.

After Dafft passed the motorcycle, he began braking and driving erratically before one of the bikes stopped in the middle of the road to confront Dafft, according to an affidavit.

One driver told Dafft that his actions could get someone killed, to which Dafft replied, “Do something,” according to the affidavit.

After driving off, gunshots were heard before a woman passenger started screaming after being shot in the back, according to the affidavit.

A detective obtained video footage from The Douglass Cafe, which showed a red Ford Explorer matching the description of Dafft’s vehicle passing the front doors of the restaurant about 11:38 p.m., according to the affidavit.

On Tuesday, Nacogdoches County detectives located and pulled the vehicle over about 2 p.m. in Tyler, where they found three shell casings in the windshield wiper cowl, according to an affidavit.

During an interview, Dafft admitted to shooting a 9 mm handgun at the two subjects five times, according to an affidavit.

Charged with a second-degree felony, he could face between two and 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000 if convicted.

Related:

Tyler man accused of shooting motorcycle rider in Nacogdoches County arrested