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Raleigh man sentenced to jail in road rage case

A judge sentenced a Raleigh man Monday to six to 17 months in jail for terrorizing a man and daughter in a random case of road rage last year and for assaulting emergency personnel who responded to help.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — A judge sentenced a Raleigh man Monday to six to 17 months in jail for terrorizing a man and daughter in a case of random road rage last year and for assaulting emergency personnel who responded to help.

Remy Blaisdell Gagnon must also undergo substance abuse and mental health counseling, Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens ordered.

Gagnon's attorney said his client suffers from drug addiction and mental health issues and is "not a violent young man." The judge disagreed, saying Gagnon has proven he is "capable of violence."

"Let's just say I'm angry. I'm angry," Stephens said.

Gagnon apologized in court, telling his victims he was sorry "from the bottom of my heart."

"Words cannot express how I feel," he said. "(I am) so sorry for everybody I affected."

Gagnon pleaded guilty to repeatedly ramming his SUV into the car of Jay Jost and his 14-year-old daughter in a neighborhood behind Ridgewood Shopping Center on Wade Avenue in February 2014.

Gagnon then followed Jost into the shopping center parking lot and continued hitting the back of the car. He followed the father and daughter into a Whole Foods store and was arrested when authorities responded to Jost's 911 call.

As he was taken into custody, Gagnon kicked an EMS employee and bit a firefighter.

The day of the incident, Gagnon said he thought the girl in Jost's car was being kidnapped, so he rammed the car.

After police and EMS workers arrived to help subdue Gagnon, he kicked EMS worker Roger Lane in the head and face. Lane had surgery on his jaw and neck and can no longer work.

Lane attended Monday's sentencing and said he hopes Gagnon will turn his life around and "actually help people, not hurt them."

"I spent my whole life helping others. Now I am out of it permanently," Lane said. "I had a really hard time for a long time because I had hard feelings for him, but in my heart I think it's the right thing to do to forgive him."

A group of EMS workers attended Monday's sentencing to support Lane and hugged in the hallway after the case was finished.

"It's a great group of people, and we all stand together, and we don't leave anybody behind," Lane said.

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