Towamencin Township Police. Photo by James Short.
Kenneth Frankenberger, of Collegeville, is charged with four felonies in the incident and free on $10,000 unsecured bail
A Montgomery County man is facing multiple felony charges after he allegedly fired a gun at another driver during a road rage incident in Towamencin Township last week, striking the victim’s vehicle near the headrest of a passenger seat.
Kenneth Frankenberger, 70, of Collegeville, who is free on $10,000 unsecured bail, has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and two misdemeanor counts each of reckless endangerment and possession of an instrument of crime.
The incident occurred on July 21 around 4:45 p.m., when police were dispatched to the area of 1910 Kulp Road for a reported hit-and-run in progress. According to the criminal complaint, the victim told county dispatchers that his vehicle had been struck by another driver, who fled the scene. He then advised there may be a bullet hole in his vehicle, and later confirmed one was found, according to police.
Responding officers located the victim's vehicle in a driveway on Kulp Road. The rear passenger-side window was shattered, and a bullet was found lodged in the rubber gasket near the headrest of the passenger seat, which was occupied at the time of the shooting, police said.
The victim recounted that the confrontation began at Old Forty Foot Road and Rittenhouse Road, where a red SUV attempted to cut him off. He said the SUV continued to follow and swerve at him through several turns until he heard what sounded like a “firecracker” on Kulp Road and noticed his window was broken, police allege in the affidavit.
The victim recounted the SUV’s license plate to authorities, which police traced to Frankenberger, according to the complaint. Investigators said they recovered a .32-caliber shell casing from the roadway and determined Frankenberger had previously purchased a Beretta Tomcat pistol of that caliber, per the complaint. A search warrant was executed the following morning at Frankenberger’s home on Bridge Road, where police recovered the loaded pistol from a bedroom dresser, per the affidavit.
According to the complaint, Frankenberger admitted to detectives that he was involved in the incident and had pulled the trigger.
He was arraigned by on-call Magisterial District Judge Cathleen Kelly Rebar, who released him on $10,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 9 before District Judge Ed Levine in Lansdale, continued from July 30. Frankenberger is represented by defense attorney Paul Mallis of Bensalem.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
