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Jean Marcos Jimenez along with drugs and cash Riverside police confiscated after his arrest. | Photos courtesy of the Riverside Police Department
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Riverside police have arrested a man who allegedly tried to ram occupied police vehicles with his car and fired a gun in the direction of members of a park patrol unit, police announced Monday.
Jean Marcos Jimenez, 19, of Riverside was arrested March 16 and later booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for assault with a deadly weapon, negligent discharge of a firearm, possession of illegal narcotics and marijuana for the purposes of sales, weapons violations, intimidation and/or dissuasion a witness, and the commission of a felony while out on bail, police said.
Officers located Jimenez in Norco and when they attempted to apprehend him, Jimenez fled “by intentionally ramming one of their vehicles, but he was safely taken into custody,” police said.
“A search of the suspect’s vehicle resulted in the seizure of approximately 9 ounces of suspected fentanyl, 120 ounces of marijuana, 19 ounces of Psilocybin mushrooms, 320 packaged marijuana and Psilocybin mushroom candy, 9mm handgun, ammunition, large amount of cash, and other items indicia of the packaging and sales of illegal narcotics,” Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback said in a statement.
After his arrest investigators learned Jimenez had been in a sexual relationship with his 16-year-old girlfriend for several years, so additional charges were added for lewd and lascivious acts with a child and child endangerment, according to police. Jimenez is currently being held on $350,000 bail.
The vehicular assault allegation stemmed from an incident on March 10 at approximately 9:30 a.m. when two members of the Riverside Police Department’s nonsworn Park and Neighborhood Specialist Unit, or PANS, were patrolling in the area of Bryant Park in the Arlanza neighborhood.
The PANS members observed a vehicle drive recklessly by them, according to the city of Riverside. The vehicle appeared to rendezvous with another car in the parking lot and after brief interaction between the vehicle occupants, both cars left the lot when they noticed the PANS specialists in their truck.
As both cars were exiting the parking lot, one of the vehicles accelerated toward the PANS truck in an attempt to ram or strike it, but the driver of the law enforcement vehicle was able to avoid being hit, according to police.
“The specialists began to drive from the area for their safety when they heard several gunshots coming from the vehicle that almost rammed into them,” Railsback said. “They called for assistance and several officers responded, including the Problem Oriented Policing (POP) Team, but the involved vehicles were not located after an extensive search.”
A Riverside police investigation turned up video that confirmed one of the vehicles of interest deliberately sped toward the PANS specialists, and an occupant of the suspect vehicle fired a handgun, police said. The gunshots, however, did not appear to be aimed toward the specialists.
Additional evidence allegedly showed “the PANS Specialists had unintentionally interrupted a drug sales transaction involving these vehicles while they were patrolling the park,” Railsback said.
“Ultimately, the POP Team obtained search warrants which helped lead to the identity of the primary vehicle driver suspected in the assault and shooting,” Railsback said. “In fact, this same suspect had recently been arrested by our METRO Team and Gang Intelligence Unit for illegal narcotics sales and assault weapons violations occurring in August 2022.”
This investigation is ongoing and there are no other details currently available. Police requested anyone with information regarding this arrest to contact Officer Michael Smith at 951-826-8728 or MikeSmith@RiversideCA.gov. Anonymous tips can be sent via email to RPDTips@RiversideCA.gov.
