HARTLY, De. - Delaware State Police have taken 27-year-old Joel Reynoso of Henderson, Maryland, into custody in connection with a deadly road rage incident that took place on Saturday evening in Hartly.
The incident unfolded around 6:22 p.m. on September 2, 2023, on the 2400 block of Halltown Road. Officers arrived on the scene to find two vehicles halted in the westbound lane and a 53-year-old man from Marydel, Delaware, in the street with an apparent gunshot wound. Despite immediate first-aid efforts by both bystanders and troopers, the victim died at a nearby hospital.
He has been identified by Delaware State Police as 53-year-old Michael Coffey of Marydel.
The preliminary investigation revealed that Reynoso, driving a blue 1998 Nissan Frontier pickup, had been operating his vehicle aggressively and nearly collided with a 2020 Dodge Durango driven by the victim. Following a brief chase, both vehicles stopped and a physical confrontation between the two men took place. The situation escalated when the victim approached Reynoso's truck to pick up a baseball cap he had lost during their scuffle. Reynoso then shot the victim with a handgun.
Police found the black handgun on the dashboard of Reynoso's vehicle, which was later identified as being stolen from Orange County, Florida, in 2015. Further investigations showed that Reynoso was not permitted to carry a deadly weapon.
Reynoso faces multiple charges, including First-Degree Murder, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Carrying a Concealed Firearm, Reckless Endangering, Receiving a Stolen Firearm, Possession of a Deadly Weapon by a Person Prohibited, and two counts of Terroristic Threatening. He is currently held at the Sussex Correctional Institution with a cash bond set at $1,084,000.
