Nickolas Paul Mccauley

On January 16, 2026, Anoka County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to southbound Highway 65 and 229th Avenue in East Bethel, Anoka County, on a report of a road rage incident where a driver pointed a firearm at another driver. The reporting party stated that she had written some political comments on the dirty part of her vehicle’s window, and she believed the other driver may have seen it. She described the driver as passing her vehicle, giving her the middle finger, and then raising a black handgun and pointing it at her.

The other vehicle then accelerated in excess of 100mph on the highway. The victim reported the license plate number, and deputies caught up to the driver, later identified as Defendant Nickolas Paul McCauley ([DOB REDACTED]), and conducted a high-risk traffic stop. Defendant was brought into custody and transported to the Anoka County Jail. En route, he made an unsolicited comment that he didn’t point the gun at the other vehicle, he only raised it up. When police searched Defendant’s vehicle, they found a replica firearm, a Byrna SD launcher that shoots chemical irritants and rubber bullets.

It should be noted that the adult victim had her 10-year-old child in the vehicle with her, and while the child did not see the handgun itself, she heard her mother yelling to call 911.