Bay Minette Man Arrested For Shooting at 18-Wheeler on Highway 59
By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
November 3, 2026
BAY MINETTE, Ala. An unprovoked shooting into a moving 18-wheeler on Highway 59 north of Bay Minette could have ended deadly on Thursday October 29th, 2026.
Leon Hayden reported to the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office that he pulled his truck over and was able to retrieve a large-caliber projectile on the floor of the cab between the driver and passenger seats. There also appeared to be a bullet defect on the outside driver’s side cab of the truck as well. Mr. Hayden said that there had not been any type of altercation with another driver, but he merely heard a loud popping sound and pulled off the roadway to look at his vehicle.
According to the sheriff’s office, the company that Mr. Hayden was employed by was able to pull video from the truck and located what appeared to be a dark-colored Chevrolet Avalanche, traveling southbound past the 18-wheeler around the same time as the bullet strike. The video did not reveal a tag for the truck but depicted two large distinctive white decals on the rear glass of the SUV in question.
The sheriff’s office sent out an informational attempt to identify email to surrounding law enforcement agencies at that time to help identify the SUV.
Yesterday morning, a deputy with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office spotted a vehicle matching the description of the Avalanche from the video.
The deputy promptly contacted an investigator, at which time they approached the residence where the vehicle was parked.
As they walked past the vehicle, a large caliber handgun was seen sitting on the front passenger seat.
The homeowner, Jason Chandler of Bay Minette, was contacted shortly after and admitted at that time to owning the Avalanche in question and to shooting the noted handgun in the car at the 18-wheeler on the 29th of October.
When asked why, Chandler had no explanation other than this was a random act of violence.
He was arrested at that time for discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.
This appeared to have been an isolated incident, and there is no danger to the public at large.
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