A 63-year-old New York man was being held without bail Tuesday after being arrested in connection with two separate incidents in Palm Springs involving alleged criminal threats, stalking and child abduction, police said.
Between March 23 and March 26, the suspect allegedly contacted a high-profile billionaire multiple times and made threatening statements, according to the Palm Springs Police Department. The victim is known for donating to Democratic causes, police said.
On March 25, a verbal altercation over a parking dispute escalated in Palm Springs when the suspect entered the victim’s vehicle without permission and drove it within the parking lot, according to police. Authorities said two children were inside the vehicle at the time, prompting an investigation into possible child abduction due to the potential endangerment of the minors.
Police said an investigation by the department determined that the suspect in both incidents was the same individual — John Gerald Short of Massapequa, New York.
A wide search for Short was launched, and he was ultimately apprehended in Fresno with assistance from that city’s police department, according to authorities. Palm Springs investigators then traveled to Fresno to take him into custody, police said.
Short was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional facility in Banning, where he’s held without bail on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a crime, criminal threats, child stealing and stalking.
“Community safety is paramount to the Palm Springs Police Department, and we treat all acts of violence and threats with the utmost seriousness,” said PSPD Chief Andy Mills. “We are committed to using all resources to apprehend those responsible. Political violence has no place in our society.”
Anyone with information regarding the crimes was urged to contact Detective Jose Barragan at 760-323-8157, or at Jose.Barragan@palmspringsca.gov.