Man acquitted in 2020 road rage case, found guilty on lesser charge

A West Springfield man has been acquitted of assault with a dangerous weapon, but found guilty of a lesser charge.

William Hennessey, 31, has been found guilty of illegal possession of a firearm.

This all stemmed from a road rage incident on May 7, 2020, prosecutors said. Hennessey was a passenger in a minivan that had two children and four adults. The driver of a truck allegedly forced the van to the side of the road. That driver then left his vehicle and started screaming at the minivan driver. He then returned to the car and left that scene, the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. 

Later that day at around 10 p.m., Hennessey and the driver of the minivan saw the truck in a convenience store parking lot. The driver attempted to block the truck to get a picture of the license plate, prosecutors said. Then, the truck driver put the truck in reverse and rammed into the van. He then tried to do it a second time, the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office said.

At that point, Hennssey shot at the truck, prosecutors argued. But jurors found him not guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon.

The driver was not hurt.

Hennesey is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday in Berkshire Superior Court.