Silvercrest CEO bonds out after homicide arrest, attorney disputes DA claim he fled from authorities
UPDATE 10/24/2025 - Rodriguez appeared before a judge on Friday, October 24 for a felony settlement conference. The conference was continued to January 14, 2026.
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) Silvercrest Advertising CEO William Rodriguez has been released from jail after posting bond, a day after being arraigned on homicide charges in connection with a 2024 hit-and-run crash that killed 60-year-old Christina Barrington in Cathedral City.
Rodriguez was arrested Monday in Palm Springs and booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio. Prosecutors initially asked a judge to hold him without bail, citing flight risk and public-safety concerns, but his attorney, David Greenberg, confirmed Rodriguez has since posted bond and been released.
Greenberg also says they’re disputing a claim from the Riverside DA’s office that Rodriguez attempted to flee from authorities at Acrisure Arena when investigators moved into to make contact with him.
"My understanding is that there were police there, but my client did not do anything in any way to avoid them," Greenberg said. "He didn't know they were there. He didn't know they were looking for him. So he's allowed to come and go as he pleases again, not against the law."
Court filings reviewed by News Channel 3 accuse Rodriguez of hitting Barrington’s scooter on October 11, 2024, after leaving an Eric Clapton concert at Acrisure Arena, then visiting Quadz and Dick’s on Arenas in downtown Palm Springs.
Prosecutors say surveillance video shows him stumbling out of the bar minutes before the crash, driving 65 miles per hour in a 45-mile zone, and leaving the scene after dragging the scooter for nearly 1,400 feet.
Documents also allege Rodriguez left town for Las Vegas the next day, where he was seen on surveillance video holding what appeared to be alcoholic drinks, including champagne.
KESQ News Channel 3’s went to Rodriguez’s Palm Springs home Friday, in the hopes of speaking with Rodriguez. A woman identifying herself as his assistant answered the door and said Rodriguez was not there.
Rodriguez’s attorney, David Greenberg said Rodriguez would “love” the opportunity to speak publicly and further proclaim his innocence, but he’s advidsed not to make public statements while his case is pending.
“I’ve advised William not to make any public statements right now,” he said. “That’s my call, not his.”
Rodriguez faces charges of murder, felony hit-and-run causing death, and driving on a suspended license tied to a prior 2013 DUI conviction.
He’s scheduled to return to court October 24 for a Felony Settlement Conference.
