Man pleads guilty to fatal 2021 road-rage shooting on I-94

A man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Tuesday for the shooting death of another man after a road-rage confrontation in the summer of 2021.

George Howard, also known as Ricco Passmore, 49, pleaded guilty to shooting and killing 38-year-old Damian Martinez Ortiz near the I-94 on-ramp from Dowling Avenue North at about 6 p.m. on Aug. 29, 2023.

Howard/Passmore was prohibited from having a gun at the time of the shooting because of a previous criminal conviction.

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Court records say that surveillance footage shows Ortiz in a blue BMW and Howard/Passmore in a white Volvo. The two then “got in a road rage incident” on the ramp to the interstate.

Ortiz then got out of the BMW and approached Howard/Passmore as he was seated in the Volvo. The video shows Ortiz collapsing and the Volvo then driving away. Ortiz then got back up, began driving the BMW again, and crashed. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Investigators were able to get the Volvo’s license plate via surveillance video and were able to track Howard/Passmore to a nearby gas station. Surveillance video showed Howard exiting the Volvo and a passenger inside the Volvo taking the driver’s seat, then driving away from the gas station.

Investigators spoke with the passenger who drove the Volvo away from the gas station. The passenger told investigators Ortiz allegedly punched Howard/Passmore before Howard/Passmore allegedly fired a shot and left the scene.

When investigators interviewed him, Howard/Passmore admitted to getting into a road rage incident with Ortiz but initially claimed nothing happened. When investigators prompted Howard/Passmore with the surveillance video, he claimed there was another passenger in the Volvo who shot Ortiz from the back seat. Investigators reported Howard/Passmore was unable to provide identifying information about this additional passenger.