Man Threatens to Kill Sheriff's Deputy With His Own Baton, Officials Say

A man who allegedly took a deputy's baton and threatened to kill him as the deputy tried to arrest him for suspicion of public intoxication was jailed Thursday in lieu of $1 million bail.

The deputy responded around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to a suspicious person call in the 800 block of Sixth Street and was directed to Hillside Avenue, where he saw Earnest Perez, 30, of Corona, said Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Mike Portillo.

"The deputy determined that Perez was intoxicated to the point where (he) was unable to care for himself and attempted to arrest him for public intoxication," Portillo said.

Perez allegedly fought the deputy and at one point took his baton and threatened to kill him, Portillo said.

"The deputy was able to wrestle the baton from Perez's grasp and it went flying across the ground," Portillo said. "Several bystanders came to the deputy's aid and were able to secure the baton."

Additional deputies arrived and Perez was taken into custody, Portillo said, adding that both Perez and the deputy suffered minor injuries.

After being medically cleared, Perez was booked on suspicion of attempted murder of a peace officer, he said.

Perez was being held at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta in lieu of $1 million bail and was due in court in Riverside on Friday, according to sheriff's online jail records.

— City News Service.