Crime & Safety
Man Accused Of Hitting, Shoving Banning Police Ordered To Stand Trial
Gilbert Nicholas Hernandez Jr. of Joshua Tree was arrested last month following the alleged confrontation with the patrol personnel.
BANNING, CA — A 42-year-old probationer accused of hitting a Banning police officer and shoving another as they tried to detain him for harassing a woman and her child must stand trial for unlawful use of force on a peace officer and other offenses, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Gilbert Nicholas Hernandez Jr. of Joshua Tree was arrested last month following the alleged confrontation with the patrol personnel, identified in court documents only as "Montes" and "Nollete."
At the end of a preliminary hearing at the Banning Justice Center, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jorge Hernandez — no relation to the defendant — ruled there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial on the felony count, as well as misdemeanor charges of battery on a peace officer and being under the influence of a controlled substance.
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The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Sept. 29 and ordered that Hernandez remain held in lieu of $100,000 bail at the Benoit Detention Center in Indio.
According to the Banning Police Department, at about 2 a.m. on Aug. 27, Hernandez walked into the parking lot of a Jack in the Box in the 700 block of West Ramsey Street and accosted the victims, identified only as a Banning woman and her underage child.
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Hernandez harassed the pair for an unspecified period, prompting the woman to call 911, police said.
Authorities said patrol officers reached the location within minutes, but by that time, the defendant had fled.
"He was located in the area of Eighth Street and Lincoln Street and was contacted by an officer," according to a police statement. "The suspect attempted to assault the officer and then ran from the location. He was eventually caught."
Hernandez allegedly remained combative, causing "an injury to one of the officers involved in the arrest," according to the statement.
The specific nature of the injury was not disclosed, but it was non-life-threatening.
Hernandez, who was not hurt, was ultimately booked into jail without further incident.
According to court records, he has a prior conviction for burglary.
