"You should've gotton his license number."
How? Not all states have license plates on the front of vehicles, and if it is at night, you can't see a front plate for the headlights. If the guy was behind him, which he was, then you can't get a license number, can you? And the guy BACKED away, a common thing to keep people from seeing a plate number.
Yes, it was a mistake to lead the follower to his neighborhood, and then turn down a dead end.
Don't conjecture about the condition of his pistol (cased/uncased, loaded/unloaded). That is Don't ask/Don't tell.