A 19-year-old Mahopac man has been arraigned on multiple felony weapons charges after authorities say he pointed a loaded handgun at the driver of a school bus carrying three special-needs children during a road-rage incident on the Taconic State Parkway.
Michael Alarcon was taken into custody Wednesday, Feb. 4, following an investigation by New York State Police into a reported menacing incident that occurred around 8:30 a.m. near Exit 3 in the town of Mount Pleasant.
According to state police and court documents, a school bus driver walked into the State Police barracks in Hawthorne later that morning to report that another motorist had brandished a firearm while the bus was traveling southbound on the Taconic.
The bus was occupied at the time by a bus monitor and three students — two 3-year-olds and one 4-year-old — who have special needs and were being transported from the Peekskill area to a school in Scarsdale, according to the driver’s supporting deposition filed in Mount Pleasant Justice Court.
The driver stated that after he changed lanes from the left to the center lane, a 2025 Toyota Corolla pulled alongside the bus in the left lane. The operator of the Toyota allegedly removed a handgun from his waistband, pointed it at the bus driver and activated a green laser, directing it at the bus driver, according to the deposition.
The bus exited the parkway at the nearest exit as the Toyota drove away.
Later that evening, state troopers from the Hawthorne barracks and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, assisted by members of Troop K’s Community Stabilization Unit and the District Attorney’s Safer Highways (D.A.S.H.) initiative, located the suspect’s vehicle traveling northbound on the Taconic and conducted a traffic stop.
Alarcon was identified as the driver and was found to be operating the vehicle with a suspended license, police said. An inventory search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of a loaded Walther P22 .22-caliber handgun with a large-capacity magazine. Authorities said there was a round in the chamber and multiple rounds of ammunition in the magazine.
Alarcon was charged with one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, a class C felony; two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, class D felonies; one count of menacing in the second degree, a class A misdemeanor; three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, class A misdemeanors; and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, an unclassified misdemeanor.
He was arraigned Thursday morning, Feb. 5, in Mount Pleasant Justice Court. According to Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace, Alarcon pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges and did not enter a plea on the felony charges, which were arraigned in local court. Justice Mark Rubeo set bail at $45,000 cash, $75,000 bond or $175,000 partially secured bond.
Alarcon is due back in court on Feb. 19.
“Any parent who puts their child on a school bus in the morning should not have to hold their breath until they return home,” Cacace said in a statement. “What happened on the Taconic Wednesday morning, as alleged, could have easily become every parent’s worst nightmare. Loaded guns and uncontrolled road rage have absolutely no place on our public highways, let alone near school buses carrying our most precious resource.”
Cacace credited the bus driver’s actions with preventing potential harm.
“Due in large part to the composure of the bus driver, these young students thankfully made it out physically unharmed,” she said. “I commend him for his quick thinking in navigating these students to safety.”
She also praised the coordinated law enforcement response.
“I am also grateful to New York State Police, Troop K, for apprehending the defendant in conjunction with our D.A.S.H. partners,” Cacace said. “Road rage is a menace to public safety, and my office will treat it accordingly.”
State police credited the Westchester County Real Time Crime Center with providing critical assistance in locating the suspect and his vehicle.
The case was investigated by the New York State Police and is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Petrullo of the Northern Westchester Branch.
Article provided by New York State Police and the Westchester DA's Office.
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