Jury deliberates in Bethesda road rage case

WASHINGTON — A Montgomery County Circuit Court jury is deliberating the attempted murder case of a man accused of road rage at Westfield Montgomery Mall last November.

David B. Goldberg, 25, of Potomac, Maryland faces two counts of attempted first- degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and seven counts of first-degree assault for the stabbings of Clifton Botts and Rachel Peterson.

The incident happened on Nov. 14, 2013 in the parking lot near the Macy’s entrance to the mall in Bethesda.

The defendants and the stabbing victims each blame the other for the incident.

At the mall, Peterson pulled out in from of Goldberg’s car, and they exchanged words.

According to testimony and court documents, the stories diverge from there.

Goldberg claims the couple, with the couple’s daughter and Peterson’s mother in the car then chased him in his car with his 2-year-old daughter in the back. He says he crashed trying to avoid them, and that Peterson and Botts then got out and hit his car.

He claims he stabbed the pair in self-defense.

Prosecutors say Goldberg was the aggressor, trying to run the couple down before crashing, then stabbing Botts three times and Peterson once before driving away and calling 911.

Court documents indicate Botts was stabbed in the upper back, left cheek and right bicep. Peterson was reportedly stabbed in the stomach trying to break up the fight between Goldberg and Botts.