Road Rage Shooting Reported In Hemet

HEMET, CA — A man suspected of shooting at a motorist during a road rage incident in Hemet last week was arrested but released on bail, according to jail records and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Brandon Coleman McFarland, 36, was taken into custody on Aug. 3 and booked into Murrieta's Southwest Detention Center on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. He was released the same day on $25,000 bail, jail records show.

The evening before his arrest, deputies from the Hemet Sheriff’s Station received a call about a shooting at Dartmouth Street and Stetson Avenue in unincorporated area near Hemet. A male victim said he was shot at during a road rage incident, the sheriff's department reported.

The victim's vehicle "had several bullet strikes," but he was not injured, according to the department.

Shell casings "and other evidence" were recovered from the alleged shooting scene, and a description of the suspect and his vehicle were provided to deputies, the department continued.

The investigation led deputies to a residence in the 500 block of Farmstead Street in Hemet where McFarland was. He was "believed to be the shooter in the assault," according to the sheriff's department.

Court records show McFarland has no documented criminal history in Riverside County.

McFarland has not been formally charged in the alleged road rage incident. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Lead Investigator Jess Vasquez of the Hemet Sheriff’s Station at 951–791–3400.