Retrial Begins For Deputy Accused Of Assaulting Tow Truck Driver
Jury selection is expected to begin today in the retrial of a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy accused in the off-duty assault of a tow truck driver in Eagle Mountain.
Richard Heverly, 43, faces charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, assault by a public officer, making criminal threats and false imprisonment. He faces up to 19 years in prison if convicted.
A jury deadlocked on the charges in April, prompting Riverside County Superior Court Judge Stephen Gallon to declare a mistrial.
Opening statements in his second trial could begin as early as Tuesday afternoon.
According to Deputy District Attorney Amity Armes, Heverly struck a gun in the ear of tow truck driver Roger Gilstrap and threatened to kill him for blocking a lane of traffic on Interstate 10 on Aug. 10, 2008.
Gilstrap testified during the first trial that he blocked the right lane of traffic with his tow truck when he noticed a big rig on fire.
The driver said Heverly pulled up in a red Dodge truck, pulled out his badge and said that his badge entitled him to do whatever he wanted.
Gilstrap said the sheriff’s deputy took his phone away and continued to tell him to get out of the truck, but he refused until Heverly went back to his truck to get a .360-caliber pistol.
The driver said he climbed down and Heverly handcuffed his right arm, injuring Gilstrap. The deputy then pushed Gilstrap against he bed of his truck, the witness said.
“Once my head was pressed between his gun and the bed, he said, `Do you feel that? I have a gun in your ear. I’m going to kill you,”‘ Gilstrap said.
The deputy backed off when emergency vehicles began to arrive, according to the prosecution.
Heverly’s attorney, Michael Schwartz, argued during trial that his client was trying to control traffic by getting the driver to move, but Gilstrap would not listen.
He said Heverly was trying to do his job, and pointed to discrepancies between Gilstrap’s recollection of the events and what other witnesses saw.
