Hearing Set for Sheriff's Deputy Accused of Assaulting 71-Year-Old Tom's Farms Security Guard

An April 9 preliminary hearing date was confirmed Wednesday for a former Riverside County sheriff's deputy accused of assaulting a 71- year-old security guard during a confrontation in the parking lot outside a farmers' market.

Reggie Frank Willia Alcantar, 32, was charged last May with felony battery, as well as sentence-enhancing allegations of elder abuse and using a weapon in the commission of a felony.

During a status hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Helios Hernandez scheduled the April hearing that will determine whether there's sufficient evidence to warrant a trial in the case.

Alcantar is free on $65,000 bail. The defendant, who worked as a jailer at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside between 2006 and early 2013, no longer works for the sheriff's department, though City News Service could not confirm whether he was fired or resigned. According to a sheriff's statement, Alcantar "separated" from the agency on Sept. 9.

On the afternoon of April 20, 2013, Alcantar was shopping at Tom's Farms, located at 23900 Temescal Canyon Road in Corona, when he got into an argument with a security guard, identified only as "James," according to sheriff's officials.

The nature of the confrontation was unclear.

According to a declaration filed in support of an arrest warrant, the guard followed Alcantar and members of his family into the parking lot of Tom's Farms while attempting to get information.

"The victim said during the altercation, he simulated having a weapon by placing his hand into his pocket, but this was before and not during the assault," according to the declaration.

Alcantar later told investigators that the guard was "rude and aggressive," the document says.

"Reggie said the security guard kept exposing a black object from inside his pocket," the affidavit states. "Reggie pushed the security guard to the ground after the guard walked aggressively toward him, his vehicle and his family."

The 71-year-old guard fell on his wrist, snapping it. He went to Riverside Community Hospital for treatment and was fitted with a cast.

He was unable to identify Alcantar. However, the defendant returned to the location to file a complaint against the business over what transpired, and based on that information, detectives were able to identify him, according to sheriff's officials.

– City News Service.