2008-08-19

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Facing Charges

INDIO, CA: Yesterday, Richard Charles Heverly, 41 of LaVerne, was arrested and booked into the Indio Jail on 4 felony charges: assault with a semi-automatic firearm, assault under the color of authority, making a criminal threat and false imprisonment, for his actions surrounding a big rig fire on the Interstate 10 freeway near Eagle Mountain on August 10, 2008.

A tow truck driver noticed an unsafe big rig fire on the side of the road and called the California Highway Patrol dispatch center to report the incident. While on the phone with the dispatcher he maneuvered his tow truck to block the freeway to keep people away from the burning truck until appropriate emergency response could arrive. Heverly, later identified as an off-duty San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy, approached the tow truck driver and flashed a law enforcement badge. Witness reports indicate that Heverly escalated the confrontation by unlawfully handcuffing and holding the tow truck driver at gunpoint.

Heverly was booked into the Riverside County Jail and was released on $150,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in court on October 29, 2008.

For Immediate Release
August 19 , 2008
Contact: Michael Jeandron 951/955.9215

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