Background: News footage of Joseph Lemalie during his court appearance in Anchorage, Alaska, on May 28 (KTUU). Inset: McKial McCarty (GoFundMe).
An Alaska man on his way home from work earlier this month nearly lost his life during a road rage incident.
McKial McCarty, 19, was driving home from his job at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska on the night of May 13 when he was cut off by a light-colored Chevy Equinox, allegedly driven by 24-year-old Joseph Lemalie. According to a criminal complaint reviewed by Law&Crime, both men were turning left at an intersection when Lemalie nearly hit McCarty. Lemalie then allegedly pulled up next to McCarty”s vehicle, rolled down his window, and fired five shots.
On a GoFundMe page started by McCarty’s mother, she said her son was hit by all five shots. The bullets reportedly hit his lungs, broke one of his arms, and caused damage to his hip. She also said her son’s vehicle was “totaled.”
According to the complaint, McCarty was able to pick Lemalie out of a lineup while he was in the hospital, as his condition improved. He told police he was “1,000% sure.”
McCarty survived his wounds and spoke to local NBC affiliate KTUU after he was released from the hospital. He told KTUU that he was in the far-left turn lane when Lemalie drove in front of him, cutting him off. McCarty honked his horn at Lemalie, who then slowed down and positioned his vehicle next to McCarty’s.
That was when Lemalie rolled down his window and allegedly “mag dumped,” as McCarty told KTUU, emptying five shots at him. He told police when they interviewed him in the hospital that he “immediately thought he was dead” after he felt his lungs “filling up” with blood. He told KTUU that he stopped his car to get out in hopes that someone could call the police and his family.
McCarty shares a daughter with his girlfriend, who also started a GoFundMe page.
Lemalie’s vehicle was identified using traffic cameras, and investigators found it at a home where his family members lived. Police seized the Equinox and said they found a spent 9 mm shell casing; they found more 9 mm shell casings at the scene of the alleged shooting.
Lemalie was arrested and charged with four counts of assault, misconduct involving weapons, and reckless endangerment. During his court appearance on Thursday, his bond was set at $50,000. He is currently in custody at the Anchorage Correctional Complex.
He is scheduled to appear in court again on June 4.
