Charlestown man charged with pulling fake gun in road rage

A Charlestown man was busted with a very realistic looking replica gun, which police say he brandished and pointed at a driver in a road rage incident.

On Tuesday night at about 4:30 p.m., a driver called 911 and told Medford Police that the driver of a Honda Accord pulled out what looked like a handgun in the middle of a road rage incident on the northbound Route 93 on the Mystic Avenue ramp in Somerville.

Police found the Honda and determined that Gary Pimentel, 20, of Charlestown, was charged with disorderly conduct and assault with a dangerous weapon after officers found a replica gun with the orange tip painted black.

Pimentel will be arraigned on Wednesday in Somerville District Court.

Replica guns have been a topic of discussion and legislation after Mayor Marty Walsh signed an ordinance banning replica guns in public places on Monday.

“Replica guns have become a big issue for us,” Police Commissioner William Evans said in a statement Monday. “We all too often encounter young people who are carrying these fake guns and even though they are fake, the public and police don’t know they are.”

Metro reported that on Monday, Mayor Marty Walsh Monday signed an ordinance banning the use of fake guns in public places. It would allow police to confiscate lifelike firearms, and would allow their owners to pick them back up at a police station, according to a release. Replica-owners under 18 would need a parent’s permission to reclaim theirs, the release said.

Medford does not have a replica gun ban.

The issue of realistic toy guns follows protests and unrest in Cleveland after police shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who had been playing in a park with an Airsoft pistol last year.