Judge sets bail at $130,000 for Punta Gorda man accused of road rage incident in Cape Coral

A Punta Gorda man accused of a road rage incident in Cape Coral had his first appearance in court on Thursday.

Velez faces one count of throwing a missile into another vehicle, two counts of burglaries with battery and three counts of misdemeanor batteries.

A judge set bail for Christopher Nelson Velez, 40, at $130,000.

Velez was ordered to stay away from the victim and two juveniles in the vehicle at the time of the incident.

If released, he must wear an electronic article.

Cape Coral police say the incident happened near the 1100 block of Del Prado Boulevard South that led both vehicles to stop in a parking lot.

The road rage altercation occurred on Wednesday around 10 a.m.

Police say Velez was driving recklessly near the victim’s vehicle as they were eastbound on Viscaya Parkway.

Both drivers exchanged words and the middle finger with one another.

Velez threw a protein shaker cup at the front seat passenger and struck a 12-year-old girl in the eye. He then cut the vehicle off forcing it to enter the Shoot Center parking lot

He exited his van and approached the vehicle and attempted to pull the driver from the front seat. When he failed he tried to remove one of the girls from the backseat, ultimately ripping off the girl’s top in the process.

The driver got out of the car to stop Velez and that’s when he turned on her and dragged her by the shirt, police said.

The girls in the car got out of the vehicle and started to hit Velez.

Velez then got into his van and fled.

Surveillance footage obtained by WINK News show the altercation in the parking lot of the Shoot Center.

“I’m watching the video on the cameras, you can see that two vehicles pull in off of Del Prado into the Shoot Center parking lot. The first vehicle is in fact the white van being trail by the three females behind it. As they come in there’s an altercation for about 40 seconds,” said Aaron Forum, owner/operator of the Shoot Center.

Another camera angle shows Velez driving off with the back door of his van wide open.

“I am glad he’s off the streets because anyone… I don’t care what those girls did this is three minors in a vehicle,” Forum said.

He was caught at a 7-Eleven, at 1526 Chiquita Blvd S, at around 4:30 p.m.

This is not Velez’s first run-in with law enforcement.

In 2007 Velez was arrested by Cape Coral police for attempting to steal a hairbrush and a bottle of Nautica cologne from Publix. According to the arrest report, Velez was stopped by a Publix employee who he pushed to the ground.

He was convicted of the theft and battery on a person over the age of 65.

In 2020, records show Velez was arrested in Charlotte County for driving with a suspended license.

He remains in Lee County Jail.