A Thousand Palms man was arrested Tuesday, Aug. 25, after he allegedly brandished a handgun during a road rage dispute in Palm Desert, then led deputies on a pursuit into Indio, police said.
Riverside County sheriff's deputies booked Willard Giron, 27, on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after the pursuit ended near Varner Road and Jefferson Street, Sgt. Daniel Milbrandt said in a press release
.Deputies were called around 10:50 a.m. to Cook Street and Gerald Ford Drive, where a driver reported that Giron "approached him yelling and holding a handgun" before driving north on Cook Street toward Interstate 10, Milbrandt said.
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The driver provided a description of Giron's vehicle and its license plate number, which police entered into the Flock Safety system — a network of surveillance cameras police use to track vehicles. A Flock alert later showed Giron's vehicle near Indio Boulevard and Madison Street in Indio, where Giron failed to stop and led officers on a pursuit.
With assistance from the sheriff's K-9 unit, deputies disabled Giron's vehicle using a pursuit intervention technique, known as the PIT maneuver, in which police make contact with a fleeing vehicle to force it to stop.
Giron was taken into custody without incident and booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio, where he remained in custody Wednesday, Aug. 26, on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, brandishing a firearm, reckless evading of a peace officer and violating post-release community supervision.
He is scheduled to appear in court Thursday, Aug. 27, at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
No injuries were reported.
Jennifer Cortez covers education and breaking news in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at jennifer.cortez@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Road rage suspect arrested after police pursuit through Indio
