Felony charges may be filed Tuesday against a probationer suspected of flashing a handgun at a motorist during a road rage confrontation in Moreno Valley.
Germaine Wade Murphy, 33, of Cathedral City was arrested Friday following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation. Murphy was booked into the Smith Correctional Facility on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a loaded firearm and probation violations. He’s being held without bail.
The convicted felon’s case was under review by the District Attorney’s Office Monday.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Rafael Victorio, on July 31, deputies received reports of a man brandishing a pistol at another driver during an unspecified conflict that happened on city streets, though the exact location wasn’t provided.
Victorio said investigators were soon able to confirm the alleged assailant’s identity, without disclosing how. For nearly two decades, Moreno Valley has operated a Citywide Camera System that sometimes aids in apprehending suspects who have perpetrated offenses and then used area streets to make their getaways.
Victorio said an arrest warrant was obtained for Murphy, and deputies tracked him to the 34000 block of Gateway Drive in Palm Desert, where a traffic stop was executed early Friday morning, and the suspect was taken into custody without incident.
Deputies then served a search warrant at his residence in the 37000 block of Bankside Drive.
“They located articles of evidentiary value,” the sergeant said, without disclosing anything further.
Court records show Murphy was convicted last year of elder abuse and an enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury.
No details were available regarding that case, which resulted in a six-month jail term and two years’ felony probation.