GLENDALE : Victim Tells of Being Shot While Driving

A Pasadena man gave emotional testimony Tuesday about an April shooting that occurred after a traffic altercation on Angeles Crest Highway and led to the loss of his right eye.

Noel Milovic, 51, said he passed out after pieces of shrapnel hit him in the left cheek and a bullet went through his right eye, causing his red Corvette to go over a berm and travel about 70 feet down a hillside.

Michael Shinkman, 50, of Palmdale is charged with attempted murder, mayhem and shooting at an occupied vehicle in the April 25 incident.

Shinkman, an auto mechanic for the Los Angeles Police Department, is being held in County Jail in lieu of $555,000 bail.

Glendale Municipal Judge Barbara Lee Burke, after hearing testimony during a preliminary hearing, ordered Shinkman to appear June 22 for arraignment in Pasadena Superior Court.

Milovic testified that he was traveling south on a section of Angeles Crest Highway about 10 miles north of Foothill Boulevard that is known for its tight, winding curves, when he came upon Shinkman, who was driving about 25 m.p.h.

Shinkman pulled over to let Milovic pass, Milovic said, but then suddenly veered around the Corvette and pulled in front of him, blocking the southbound lane.

Milovic testified that he started to pass Shinkman’s green Plymouth on the right shoulder when he noticed that Shinkman was holding a gun and wearing a blue jacket with a Los Angeles Police Department logo on the sleeve.

“I put my hands up against the window so he could see them because I thought he was a policeman,” Milovic said. “Then he started shooting. I know that the window shattered and two shots hit me for sure.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Charles Araujo, who was off duty at the time, witnessed the shooting after he pulled to the side of Angeles Crest Highway to help motorists involved in what he thought was a traffic accident.

Araujo said he happened on the scene just as Shinkman was standing outside his car pointing a gun at the Corvette.

Defense attorney Daniel Huswitt asked Araujo if Shinkman’s hands were shaking.

“I observed a controlled shooter who was taking aim at a target, and then correcting his stance and absorbing the recoil before continuing to shoot at his target,” Araujo said.

Burke denied a motion by Huswitt to dismiss the attempted murder and mayhem charges after he alleged that Milovic had tailgated Shinkman in “a cat-and-mouse situation that had created reasonable fear in Shinkman’s mind.”