GLENDALE : Arraignment Delayed in Highway Shooting

An arraignment was postponed Wednesday for an Antelope Valley man accused of shooting a Pasadena motorist in the face after the victim allegedly tailgated him on Angeles Crest Highway.

Michael Shinkman, 50, who is being held at Los Angeles County Jail, was charged with attempted murder, mayhem and shooting at an occupied vehicle in the Monday incident, said Barbara Murphy, deputy district attorney in charge of the Glendale courts. Bail was set at $555,000.

Shinkman will appear in Glendale Municipal Court to enter a plea to the felony charges and a preliminary hearing date will be set on May 11.

The victim, Noel Milovic, 51, of Pasadena, was taken to Verdugo Hills Hospital, where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the face and released Wednesday, officials said.

The shooting occurred about 1 p.m. after Shinkman pulled his Plymouth into a turnout on Angeles Crest Highway about 10 miles north of Foothill Boulevard to let Milovic pass in his red Corvette, said Detective Ken Talianko of the Crescenta Valley sheriff’s station.

After the cars traveled a short distance, Shinkman sped up and passed Milovic, turning his car in front of the Corvette and stopping to block the road, police said.

Milovic tried to pass Shinkman on the right shoulder until he saw that Shinkman, an auto mechanic with the Los Angeles Police Department, was wearing a work shirt with LAPD patches embroidered on the sleeve and front pocket.

The victim then stopped his car because he thought Shinkman, who had gotten out of his car and was standing near the driver’s door, was a policeman, Talianko said.

Shinkman pointed a 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol at him and fired four rounds into Milovic’s car, police said.

One of the rounds from the weapon, which police said Shinkman was carrying illegally, hit Milovic in the left cheek and slammed into his nose, sending shrapnel into Milovic’s right eye, police said. Milovic has apparently lost vision in his right eye because of the incident, officials said.

After the shooting, Milovic fell unconscious and took his foot off the brake, causing his car to roll about 70 feet down an embankment, Talianko said.

Shinkman apparently drove to a nearby Shell station and asked an attendant to call for help. Crescenta Valley deputies later arrested Shinkman at the gas station, Talianko said.