A man accused of firing gunshots toward another car as he rode past it on U.S. 26 near the Warm Springs Reservation told police "he wanted to show them you don't do this to me,'' after the other car's occupants had flipped off him and his driver for tailgating, according to an FBI agent.

Dat Quoc Do, 26, made his first appearance Thursday in U.S. District Court in Portland, accused of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Dat Quoc Do

The alleged road rage encounter occurred about 10:35 p.m. Monday, according to an FBI agent and federal complaint.

Lyda Rhoan, the driver of a Ford Focus, called 911 to report that someone in a white car following closely with its high beams on fired four gunshots at her car. Then, as the white car passed her in the left lane, she saw the front passenger lift his arm and extend it out the window, holding a handgun.

Rhoan told authorities she stepped on the brakes when she saw the gun aimed at her car and heard four more shots. She told police she spotted an "orange muzzle flash,'' as she slowed down, FBI Special Agent Travis Welter testified in court Thursday.

The Ford Focus wasn't struck. The driver Rhoan, and her two passengers, her 18-year-old daughter and 12-year-old niece, were not physically injured but were traumatized by the encounter, the agent said.

If Rhoan hadn't hit the brakes, "they believe the vehicle would have been hit,'' said Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Maloney.

Rhoan continued driving as she reported the shots fired. Warm Springs police pulled over the white Honda Accord near milepost 100 on U.S. 26.

Police located a handgun in the pocket of the front passenger door and a magazine for the gun in the center console. The magazine, which holds 13 bullets, contained five, with eight missing, according to the FBI. They also seized four other firearms from the car after obtaining a search warrant, including an AR-15 rifle with a round in the chamber, a 12-gauge shotgun with two rounds in the magazine, an unloaded 7mm hunting rifle and a .17 HMR rifle, according to a federal complaint.

The driver of the Honda, Thao Bich Tran, told officers she had been driving about one car length behind the Ford Focus when she noticed its driver throw something out the window. She heard Do rack the slide of his pistol in her front passenger seat and saw him fire two shots out the passenger window while they were behind the Ford Focus. She said she rolled up Do's window to prevent him from firing more shots and started to pass the other vehicle but Do rolled down the window and fired more gunshots.

Do, who was traveling with Tran from Portland to Madras, told investigators he had directed his friend to pull up next to the other car.

"He said he wanted to show them you don't do this to me,'' Welter testified. "He said he shot in the sky, not at the vehicle.''

Asked why he had the firearms in the vehicle, Do told police he liked shooting, "liked the way it felt when he shot a gun,'' according to the FBI agent.

Assistant federal public defender Gerald Needham, representing Do, on Thursday questioned the federal agent if U.S. 26, a state highway, was part of the Warm Springs Reservation, which falls under federal control. Welter said he believed the stop occurred within the boundaries of the reservation, leading to the federal charges.

The occupants of the Ford Focus are tribal members, the agent said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Youlee Yim You found probable cause to detain Do after Thursday's preliminary hearing. Do, who had a Vietnamese interpreter seated beside him through Thursday's hearing, is not a U.S. citizen but holds a 10-year visa, the prosecutor said.

Do's next court appearance is Sept. 27.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian