Road Rage Participant Previously Arrested for Altercation at Same Intersection

Tallahassee Reports has determined that one of the participants in the altercation that took place on January 6, 2022 at the intersection of Thomasville Road and Bannerman Road was arrested eight years earlier related to an altercation with a driver at the same intersection.

There has been little information released about the January 6 incident since the original Leon County Sheriff’s Office statement which indicated that “Deputies received a call shortly after 5pm today regarding shots being fired in the area of Thomasville Rd. and Bannerman Rd. Upon arrival, deputies learned that an altercation between drivers lead to a vehicle collision, followed by shots being fired. One driver was fatally wounded and another driver has been taken into custody.”

Peter Schorsch, publisher of Florida Politics, reported that multiple officials confirmed that John Kuczwanski was killed in the incident. Kuczwanski was the Legislative Affairs Director for the State Board of Administration.

Since the incident, TR has obtained an Arrest/Probable Cause Affidavit that indicates John Kuczwanski was arrested for “Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon without intent to Kill” on December 14, 2014. The affidavit indicates that the arrest was related to an incident that took place around 5 p.m. at the intersection of Thomasville Road and Bannerman Road.

According to the affidavit, a motorist called the Leon County Sheriff’s Office and reported that a “white heavy set male had pointed a small, black in color handgun with a mounted laser at him while stopped next to him at the intersection of Thomasville Road and Bannerman Road.”

Based on the information provided in the complaint, an officer was dispatched to a residence and found Mr. Kuczwanski in the driveway still in the drivers seat of his vehicle.

After questioning Kuczwanski, the officer verified that a weapon fitting the description provided in the complaint was in the vehicle. The officer indicated that probable cause existed to warrant an arrest.

Records indicate that Kuczwanski was sentenced to probation under the conditions that he remain arrest free, no contact with victims, and possess no firearms. He completed the terms of the probation on February 16, 2018.

TR has contacted the Leon County Sheriff’s Office seeking an update on the January 6th incident. We will update our report when more information is available.

Steve Stewart

Steve Stewart is the founder and editor of Tallahassee Reports which began in 2009 as an online blog. Steve received a Bachelors Degree from Clemson University in 1984 and a Masters degree in Political Science from FSU in 1990. He has been involved with state and local politics since arriving in Tallahassee in 1989.

View all posts by Steve Stewart →

32 Comments

  1. StandmyGround
    StandmyGround

    John Kuczwanski wasn't the only criminal working at the State Board of Administration. Lots of illegal and unethical behavior goes on there daily. Murderers, frauds, stalkers, porn addicts, sexual harassers, extra marital affairs, unethical senior officers, and property damage--- it's all ingrained in the culture People don't even know that the SBA pays its top executives bonuses (called incentive based compensation) ranging from 30-60% of salary, and the average salary at the SBA as of 9/30/21 was $105k (from clerks up to the Exec Dir). But bonuses are excluded from the floridahasarighttoknow.com website, so the average is much, much higher. Time to clean house and make the SBA accountable like state government should be. Clean house and eradicate the culture of arrogance, elitism and egotism that clearly empowers SBA employees to commit road rage, terrorism and possess a weapon even after pleading guilty a few years prior.

  2. GunRights420
    GunRights420

    See, all you liberals, a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun!

  3. News Maven
    News Maven

    Heard two things from my sources:
    1) The guy in the Prius is either a Marine, or ex-Marine. (Whoops!)
    2) The widow of the BMW driver is calling it an "assassination" on FaceCrook, and getting blasted for it.

    Yeah, Peter is huge fan of Charlie Crist, but he also seems to like Jimmy Patronis, which is a head scratcher for me.

    Meanwhile, on the subject of New Year's Eve resolutions...
    I will be repeating mine from 2021, which I kept:
    DON'T SPEND EVEN ONE CENT ON BIG JOURNALISM!

    For the few imbeciles/subscribers still here, you can cancel your subscription to the Fake Newsocrat, which just announced they are DOWNSIZING to a six-day-a-week rag for the first time ever, by contacting customer service at 1-800-999-2271.

  4. RB
    RB

    Sounds like a "Stand Your Ground" case to me for the Prius driver!

  5. Dave Blue
    Dave Blue

    @Sheri, it has in fact been said Johnny had a gun which he fired at the Prius driver after ramming him in the driver's door and pushing him across the parking lot which if true means he was the perp and not the victim. That also makes him a convicted felon with a gun which is a felony in and of itself.

  6. Dave Blue
    Dave Blue

    Just because the guy is dead doesn't automatically make him the victim. He may be the perp.

  7. Kirk
    Kirk

    Southern hypocrisy ??
    Nope.
    That would be a blue controlled area.
    Like Tallahassee.
    Yep that's the place where civil rights lawyers say the minorities are so prejudiced that some can not get a fair trial even at the federal level...
    No justice
    No peace works for me!
    You can always go back, I hear their standards being citizens are getting lower...
    Get to vote and be an illegal alien and more government aid than a citizen.
    SMH

  8. curious
    curious

    same number of casualties from ill-tempered bad judgement call by a pandemic weakened individual as the D.C. FAUX unarmed "coup" tragedy. Both needless deaths.

  9. Hope
    Hope

    Jeff Burlew from the Tallahassee Democrat writes and outstanding article and is questioning the lack of information and at the same time reports a lot of information due to his excellent investigative reporting.

    Burlew writes, "Kuczwanski worked more than a decade at the SBA, which is responsible for investing the Florida Retirement System’s pension and administering its investment plan".

    And there you have it...

  10. WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot
    WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot

    The deceased was white so the media has no interest. They will, however, keep looking and hoping, trying to find a liberal twist to it. Making one up often works for them.

  11. Hope
    Hope

    @ Alex,

    What is the source of your information?

    @ Tallahassee Reports,

    Why the lack of info and information from Sheriff McNeil?

  12. Karmapopo
    Karmapopo

    How does someone convicted of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon get a job with The State of Florida? I'm asking for a friend.

  13. Jay bags
    Jay bags

    If they were black you’d know the facts and their names.

  14. Dick Desantis
    Dick Desantis

    Florida is so full of it, all of that should be public knowledge. That’s why people pay taxes. When bill Cosby got arrested do they hide it? Florida and the south in general has a weird way of justifying things in a hypocritical way.

  15. Ced
    Ced

    Y’all ain’t gone like this but had he been treated the way a black personality with a gun would’ve been treated, he may be alive today…. Aggravated Assault wit a deadly weapon is almost 100% prison time when your black… had he been giving the same punishment he may have thought twice before ramming into someone’s car… prison time and probation are definitely not the same!!! He didn’t learn anything from being told “don’t do that again”

  16. mark
    mark

    The shooters info most likely has not been released per Marsey's Law. The victim of aggravated battery is exempt.

  17. Alex
    Alex

    The guy that was killed was in the BMW. It seems he ran into the other car multiple times as the aggressor. It seems he was shot by the driver of the other car. I think the shooter may be a person with law enforcement ties since his name has not been released. Time will tell.

  18. Peggy
    Peggy

    So the deceased was in the BMW that was t-boned? This account is very confusing.

  19. Hope
    Hope

    The Leon County booking report shows several arrests that could be for this incident, however, all the pictures and names of the alleged shooter are protected for some reason. The first person listed of the proposed shooter the last name would begin with the seventh letter of the alphabet. I believe there are two other arrests further down in the report that are also listed as protected where it will not provide their name or picture.

    The two vehicles involved... a BMW SUV and a Prius.

  20. DavidB
    DavidB

    I've heard from several people that Kuczwanski was driving aggressively on Thomasville Rd and almost caused a couple other accidents before what happened at Circle K, and that he exited his vehicle and approached the shooter's car.

    Can anyone confirm this?

  21. john lojan
    john lojan

    my question is why isnt this guy in the DOC website?

  22. Commonsense
    Commonsense

    Anyone who's lived in Florida for a while should know that most road rage incidents don't end well for either party.

    In a state that has Concealed Weapon Permits, the Stand Your Ground Law and numerous illegal weapons in circulation, it's always best to avoid any incident that could develop into road rage. Be the better person and drive away from any hot-headed rage instigator and don't be the instigator.

    Unfortunately, if you haven't learned that by now, you may just get what you deserve.

  23. Sheri
    Sheri

    No one has said John had a gun, he was not allowed to own one after the first incident! You notice that the shooter is not named or anything about him or why he shit John, just let’s blame the victim!

  24. Nunavut Yukon
    Nunavut Yukon

    Seems like a lot of info is missing… like how did the shooters car end up rammed by decedents vehicle…

  25. Hope
    Hope

    * dependent should be accuser

  26. Hope
    Hope

    Sheriff Walt McNeil hired several public relations spokespersons and yet no information?

    Also, the charges in 2014 how can they go anywhere with only a one-person witness? Who was the defendant? Sheriff Campbell would misuse that charge against whistleblowers and the witnesses would be sex perverts and wife beaters. Don't jump to conclusions without getting the full story.

    @ Stanley...
    Why does that matter?

  27. Deep Six
    Deep Six

    Sounds like he pointed his gun at the wrong hombre. My daddy taught me not to EVER point my gun at anything I didn't fully intend to shoot. I hope he rests more peacefully than he lived and my condolences go out to his loved ones.

    I do have a couple of questions for the State Board of Administration...

  28. Pat
    Pat

    The lesson of this story is, if you carry a pistol, you need to purchase Conceal Carry Insurance. Think about it. The police officer isn't going to say, you were justified shooting anyone so he kicks the can down the road and arrests you. The Prosecutor isn't going to say you were justified shooting anyone so he kicks the can down the road and drags you before a Grand Jury. Then it is time to get your checkbook out and hire an attorney and go broke defending yourself, again.

  29. FBI Informant
    FBI Informant

    John learned the hard way sometimes when you play with the bull you get the horns

  30. Snidely Whiplash
    Snidely Whiplash

    Not desirable for leftists:
    Peter Schorsch and his publication FL Politics are about as left as you can get. Always looking for any angle to smear Desantis and promote all things leftist and anti-American in nature.
    Far be it for me to speak badly of the deceased and prayers for the family and all involved.

    You can read the above article and make any conclusions on your own.

    Their employee has been killed in a road rage situation that is going to be very difficult to put the typical leftist spin on; due to the history and circumstances described above. Imagine the righteous indignation and media blitz Florida Politics would attempt to put the typical leftist spin on at the start of Florida's legislative session if their employee had been of a different racial group.
    Sorry for the loss to the family and employer.

  31. Stanley SIMS
    Stanley SIMS

    Are these white peoples?

  32. TG brown
    TG brown

    Big proponent of 2nd amendment but that guy should have permanently forfeited his rights by such a blatant misuse of it.

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