Tampa police arrest BMW driver in fatal spit-turned-stabbing

TAMPA — The BMW driver accused of fatally stabbing a man in a road rage incident set off by errant spit was arrested on a charge of second-degree murder on Thursday night, according to Tampa police.

Teddy Baltimore Smith Jr., 44, was arrested about 10 p.m.

Police had said earlier in the day that they had found the black convertible BMW and the driver from Wednesday's deadly road rage incident.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Spit may have spawned fatal Tampa road rage clash (w/Video)

Smith does not appear to have known the man he is accused of stabbing, said Tampa police spokesman Steve Hegarty.

Police also confirmed witness accounts, previously published by the Tampa Bay Times, that detailed how the deadly argument started.

Gilbert Serna, 56, was a passenger in a Dodge Ram landscaping truck when its driver stopped on Fowler Avenue at Interstate 275 to the left of the BMW, police said.

Serna spit out the window and accidentally struck either the car or the driver.

"The driver of the BMW took offense and got out of his car to verbally confront Serna," Hegarty said. "The driver of the BMW stabbed Serna in the upper body, then got back into his car, and drove away."

Late Wednesday, police released surveillance video of a black BMW convertible headed west on Fowler Avenue at Florida Avenue seconds after the incident.

The video showed the BMW going through the intersection, trailed seconds later by the Ram, with a wounded Serna in the passenger seat.

Ram driver Jeffery Hunter told police he attempted to follow the BMW before realizing the extent of Serna's injury and stopping at 109th Avenue and Ashley Street.

Officers performed CPR on Serna, but he was pronounced dead at a local hospital, police said.

According to jail records, in recent years Smith has been arrested on charges such as aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, battery, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and, most recently, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2016.

Contact Jonathan Capriel at jcapriel@tampabay.com. Follow @jonathancapriel.