Palm Desert Road Rage, Gun Waving Suspect Appears In Court

INDIO, CA — A convicted felon accused of waving a pistol at a motorist during a road rage confrontation in Palm Desert, then fleeing from deputies when they caught up with him minutes later, is slated to make his initial court appearance Thursday.

Willard Alexander Giron Jr., 27, of Thousand Palms, was arrested Tuesday after a brief chase.

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Giron is charged with felony evading, brandishing a firearm not in self-defense and probation violations.

He's being held in lieu of $120,000 bail at the Benoit Detention Center and was scheduled to appear before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Tucker Thursday afternoon in the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

According to sheriff's Sgt. Daniel Milbrandt, shortly before 11 a.m. Tuesday, the defendant was involved in a roadway dispute with a motorist, whose identity was not released, near the intersection of Cook Street and Gerald Ford Drive in Palm Desert.

"The victim reported (to 911 dispatchers) that during the road rage incident, a male approached him yelling and holding a handgun," Milbrandt said. "The suspect left the area and headed northbound on Cook, toward Interstate 10."

There were no injuries. Minutes later, after patrol deputies had gotten the license plate and description of the alleged assailant's vehicle from the victim, there was "a Flock (law enforcement camera) alert indicating the license plate was captured in the area of Indio Boulevard and Madison Street," according to the sergeant.

Deputies raced to the location and quickly spotted the car, allegedly with Giron at the wheel, and signaled the driver to stop, which he failed to do, Milbrandt said.

He alleged a chase ensued, heading northwest along Varner Road. Deputies in a patrol SUV used a "pursuit intervention technique," or PIT maneuver, to clip the vehicle and knock it out of control, immediately ending the pursuit at Varner and Jefferson Street in Indio, roughly a mile from where it started.

Giron was taken into custody without further incident. Neither he nor anyone else was injured.

Court records indicated the defendant has prior convictions that resulted in a state prison sentence, but they weren't listed.