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Desert Hot Springs City Councilmember Russell Betts pleaded not guilty Thursday in what authorities called a road rage incident. The court hearing came on Betts' last day in office after an unsuccessful bid for mayor.
Betts pleaded not guilty to a felony count of vandalism and a misdemeanor count of false imprisonment, according to case records. The hearing was at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
He is due back in court for a felony settlement conference on March 6.
Betts is accused of trapping and damaging another motorist's vehicle at a 7-Eleven, charges that were filed one day before the election. Betts allegedly followed a driver whom he believed cut him off in traffic on Aug. 4, parking in a way that prevented the person's escape and striking the other car, according to a declaration in support of arrest.
Contacted in mid-November about the allegations, Betts told The Desert Sun he had not received any paperwork and was unaware of the charges until reporters called him.
According to the arrest declaration filed in court, Betts followed the other driver shortly before 9 a.m. Aug. 4, parking behind him when only one other vehicle was in the lot. He allegedly popped the hood of his car, "pretending to have an inoperable vehicle" and confronting the other driver when the person left the convenience store. The other driver "could not get out of the situation, except to back out of the parking space," wrote Senior Investigator Lauren Swirsky of the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.
Swirsky wrote that the councilmember had parked his car with about four feet of room for the other driver to back up. According to the declaration, after the other driver backed up twice while trying to escape, striking Betts' car with "minimal force" the second time, Betts kicked the passenger side of the vehicle and hit it twice with his hand.
On his third attempt to reverse from the situation, Swirsky wrote, the driver was "able to make the right turn to get out of the parking lot."
Damage estimates that Swirsky acquired from West Coast Auto Collision showed over $3,200 in repair costs, according to the declaration.
The other driver's car is redacted in the court document. But Jennifer Shannon told The Desert Sun her 22-year-old son, Khalid Shannon, is the victim in the case and had only purchased the car, a red 2021 Dodge Challenger, a week before. Jennifer Shannon said her son admitted he made a mistake while driving, but was devastated that he was forced to sell his car because of the damage.
Betts had served as a councilmember since 2007. Incumbent Desert Hot Springs Mayor Scott Matas, seeking reelection for another four-year term, won with 49% of the votes to Betts' 41%. Two other candidates were far behind.
On Thursday, Matas was scheduled to be sworn in for another term, and two new city council members, Dirk Voss and Daniel Pitts, were scheduled to take their oaths as well.