DC Road Rage: Life Behind Bars

⏱ 3 min read

Rodney Baggott, 58, will die in prison for gunning down Uber Eats driver Rasheek Abdullah, 27, in a fit of road rage at the Dupont Circle Metro station in Washington, D.C. on January 30th. Baggott opened fire on Abdullah after the victim passed him, believing he’d been cut off. Yesterday, a federal jury’s guilty verdict locked up Baggott for life without parole.

The shooting happened as Baggott waited for his girlfriend outside her law firm office. Witnesses say Abdullah briefly passed Baggott’s white Mitsubishi Outlander, igniting a rage in the defendant. Baggott pulled alongside Abdullah’s car and fired once, hitting him in the neck. He then peeled off, leaving Abdullah to die.

Investigators quickly zeroed in on Baggott after his girlfriend, spooked, called an auto body shop requesting repairs for damage to the Mitsubishi – damage that matched descriptions broadcast in a police bulletin. The car became a key piece of evidence linking Baggott to the scene.

The jury didn’t take long, returning a guilty verdict on all counts—first-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm—after just one day of deliberation. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro called Baggott a “career criminal” who posed an “enormous harm” to the community. Judge Reggie B. Walton handed down the life sentence.