Stonington — Police charged a North Stonington man Tuesday with pointing a handgun at a state Department of Transportation employee last summer after the two exchanged words at the site of a DOT project on Route 49 in Pawcatuck.

Kyle Colechia, 24, of 272 Pendleton Hill Road was taken into custody at Electric Boat in Groton late Tuesday morning after police obtained a warrant for his arrest. He was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree threatening and breach of peace.

He later was released on a $10,000 bond. Police said they seized firearms that belong to Colechia and he had to surrender his pistol permit. A judge later will decide whether he can legally possess firearms.

According to police, Colechia was driving out of the Stop and Shop parking lot onto Route 49 on Aug. 28, 2017, about 4 p.m. The DOT crew was setting up for some nighttime work on the road when the DOT worker exchanged words with Colechia, who then allegedly pointed a handgun at him. Police said the DOT worker was able to identify the make and model of the handgun but did not get the license plate of the car.

In October, police said the DOT worker contacted them to say he had seen the car and the man who threatened him with the gun and this time had the license plate. Police investigated, found the car was registered to Colechia and also found that the gun described by the DOT worker was the same make and model as one registered to Colechia. Police then sought a warrant for his arrest.