A man who allegedly vandalized a hotel in Palm Springs got into two altercations with police over the course of two days, resulting in his arrest Saturday.
Officers were dispatched at 11:25 a.m. Friday to the hotel in the 500 block of Warm Sands Drive, where they encountered the suspect, who was intoxicated and sitting in a car outside the building, according to the Palm Springs Police Department.
Authorities said the suspect, 40-year-old Gabriel Castaneda Hernandez of Perris, became combative and a physical altercation between him and police took place.
“During the nearly four-minute long altercation, Hernandez refused to follow any directions, physically resisted all efforts to be detained and threw his own feces at the officers while they tried to detain him,” police said in a news release.
Eventually, Hernandez was subdued and paramedics took him to a hospital due to his highly intoxicated state, according to police.
At some point, Hernandez was allowed to voluntarily leave the hospital and at about 9:20 a.m. Saturday he came into contact with a patrol officer outside the Palm Springs Police Station resulting in a brief struggle.
It’s unclear what led to the altercation, which resulted in Hernandez being arrested.
He was taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation before being booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility on suspicion of resisting arrest, aggravated battery against a peace officer and driving under the influence of drugs.