Huntington man charged after alleged Melville road rage gun threat
Suffolk police charged Gary Donnelly after they say he pulled a gun on another driver during a Melville road-rage confrontation near Route 110.
Gary Donnelly, a Huntington man, was charged after police said a road-rage confrontation in Melville escalated to a gun threat on one of Suffolk County’s busiest corridors.
Suffolk County Police said Donnelly was arrested for menacing after the incident and was later at the Suffolk police Third Precinct in Bay Shore Friday morning. Reporting tied to the case said a loaded firearm was recovered.
One local account identified Donnelly as 45 and placed the confrontation around 2 p.m. near Route 110 in Melville. Police said he was driving a white 2021 Ford when the encounter began, while the other motorist was in a black 2018 Dodge Durango.
According to that account, Donnelly allegedly drew a handgun and pointed it at the other driver, who backed away. The same reporting said the incident followed a series of road-rage behaviors, turning what began as a driving dispute into a weapons case with immediate law-enforcement consequences.
The arrest puts another spotlight on how quickly aggressive driving can become a public-safety issue in western Suffolk, where Route 110 carries steady commuter traffic through Melville and surrounding hamlets. In this case, the allegation was not simply that two drivers lost their tempers. Police said a firearm entered the confrontation, making the response a menacing arrest rather than a routine traffic complaint.
For Suffolk prosecutors, the case will turn on the details that often decide weapons-related road-rage cases: what Donnelly allegedly did, whether the handgun was displayed to intimidate, and how police establish possession and intent. The loaded gun recovery, if filed in court records, will likely become part of that review as the case moves forward.
The episode also fits a broader local concern for Suffolk residents who drive the county’s main commercial and commuter roads every day. On corridors like Route 110, where congestion and lane changes can trigger confrontations, a single act of escalation can force police, prosecutors and judges to treat an ordinary commute as a criminal matter.
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