SAN FRANCISCO - A Vallejo man was sentenced to 23 years in prison Tuesday for a road rage shooting in 2021, the Napa County District Attorney's Office announced.
On Jan. 21, 2021, Frank Devante Stephenson, 28, was speeding on Devlin Road in Napa County when he came across a 58-year-old man driving in the same direction in a truck. Prosecutors said Stephenson aggressively tailgated the man and then drove up alongside him and fired a gun into his truck, hitting the man in his abdomen.
Stephenson sped away from the scene while witnesses stopped to help the victim at the side of the road. The man underwent emergency surgery and survived, prosecutors said.
Two weeks later, Stephenson again pointed a handgun at someone. During that interaction, he allegedly engaged in road rage on state Highway 29 south of Green Island Road. The victim was driving a semi-truck when Stephenson cut him off.
Stephenson then slowed down, and when the victim drove up next to him in the next lane, Stephenson pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at the truck driver. He tried to shoot his gun but was unsuccessful. The truck driver got the license plate of Stephenson's vehicle before he got away, however.
The Napa County Sheriff's Office identified Stephenson and located him at his job. Authorities found a stolen firearm in his car that was forensically linked to the shooting. He was found to be responsible for both road rage cases, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Stephenson pleaded no contest on Jan. 11 to the charges of attempted murder and assault with a firearm.