Crime & Safety
RivCo Mayoral Candidate Accused In Road Rage Incident
Charges against the Desert Hot Springs City Councilman and mayoral candidate were filed one day before the election.
DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CA — Desert Hot Springs City Councilman and mayoral candidate Russell Betts is being accused of trapping and damaging another motorist's vehicle at a 7-Eleven, in charges that were filed one day before the election.
Betts is accused of following a driver who he believed cut him off in traffic on Aug. 4, parking in a way that prevented the person's escape and striking the other car, according to a declaration in support of arrest first obtained by Uken Report.
Betts is scheduled to be arraigned and charged with a felony count of vandalism and a misdemeanor count of false imprisonment on Dec. 12 at the Riverside Hall of Justice, according to a filed complaint.
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According to the declaration, Betts followed the other driver shortly before 9 a.m. that day, parking behind him when only one other vehicle was in the lot. He allegedly popped the hood of his car, "pretending to have an inoperable vehicle" and confronting the other driver when the person left the convenience store. The other driver "could not get out of the situation, except to back out of the parking space," investigator Lauren Swirsky, contacted by the Desert Hot Springs Police Department, said in a statement.
The councilman had allegedly parked his car with about four feet of room for the other driver to back up. According to the declaration, after the other driver backed up twice while trying to escape, striking Betts' car with "minimal force" the second time, Betts allegedly kicked the passenger side of the vehicle and hit it twice with his hand.
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On his third attempt to reverse from the situation, the driver was "able to make the right turn to get out of the parking lot."
Damage estimates that Swirsky acquired from West Coast Auto Collision showed over $3,200 in repair costs, according to the declaration.
When asked for comment, Betts texted Uken Report that the information on the charges were "new to [him]."
A councilman since 2007, Betts was trailing incumbent Scott Matas in early reported results for his mayoral bid, according to the Desert Sun. His tenure on the Desert Hot Springs City Council is set to conclude in December.
