PORT ORANGE, Fla. — A man was booked into the Volusia County Jail on a second-degree murder charge after shooting a driver after a crash Sunday in Port Orange, police said.
Robert Gelles crashed a locksmith van into an SUV driven by Joseph Bailey III, 44, of New Smyrna Beach as they approached a stoplight at Dunlawton and South Ridgewood avenues at about 5:15 p.m. Sunday, Port Orange police Lt. Scott Brozio said.
Witnesses described a back-and-forth exchange between the two men as they drove, cutting one another off.
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Gelles, 63, of Holly Hill shot Bailey as he approached Gelles' van, Chief Gerald Monahan, Jr. said.
Bailey was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, where he was pronounced dead. The passenger in the SUV was not hurt.
"From what I've seen on the tape, there was nothing the victim did in my estimation to precipitate being shot," Monahan said.
Police said Gelles opened fire before getting out of his van.
Police said Gelles told them that Bailey said, "I got something for you" and reached behind his back. Police said Bailey was not armed.
"We saw the body (lying) here in the street. A bunch of people were around," said a witness.
Bailey's father said his son didn't know Gelles. He said his son was buying chemicals to clear up the water in his saltwater fish tank before he was gunned down.
"For this guy to get death would be too good. He needs to go to jail for the rest of his life and he needs to have to get up every morning thinking about what he did," said the victim's father, Joseph Bailey II. "He needs to have a lifetime to think about what he's done."
Bailey said his son always helped people.
"People just adored him," Bailey said.
Officers said they found a gun inside the van.
Gelles is scheduled to face a judge Monday.
He remains jailed without bail.
The younger Baileyhad been arrested several times since 2010 on charges including battery and DUI. He had owned up to his mistakes and was trying to get his life on the right track, according to his father.
"I think the biggest thing is that we celebrate the joy of his life and not the tragedy of his death," Bailey said.
WFTV
