Man Who Bit Palm Springs Police Officer Sentenced to 3 Years Probation

INDIO (CNS) – A 47-year-old man who was shot by a Palm Springs police officer last summer while attacking another officer was sentenced to three years of formal probation. Kevyn Matthew Weintraub of North Carolina pleaded guilty Wednesday afternoon to one felony count each of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and resisting or deterring an officer, according to court records. He additionally admitted to a sentence-enhancing allegation of causing great bodily injury. He was immediately sentenced to three years of formal probation. Police responded to a report of a man threatening people with a knife in front of Gentlemen’s Barber Shop at 520 South Indian Canyon Drive on the afternoon of Aug. 8, 2019. Jeff Orozco, the owner of the barbershop, told police that Weintraub entered the shop demanding to know who worked in one of the barber chairs. Orozco said Weintraub appeared agitated was asked to leave. The confrontation then continued outside involving the defendant and about a half-dozen people, a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigator said during preliminary hearing testimony. The investigator said video footage shows a man who appears to be Weintraub wielding a knife while walking toward a group of five or six people in front of the barbershop. As one of the involved people started walking back to the barbershop, Weintraub closed in on him and yelled "I’ll stab you in the back," the investigator said. Weintraub then fled the area, and one of the customers called 911. Police Officer Jeffrey Burton responded to the call and saw Weintraub, shouted verbal commands at him, and when he failed to stop, Burton approached to physically restrain him, according to the investigator’s testimony. Weintraub then punched Burton in the nose, and the officer tackled the suspect to the ground, where he began throwing additional punches, and eventually bit two of Burton’s fingers, the investigator testified. "He was concerned Mr. Weintraub was going to bite his fingers off," according to the investigator, who said Weintraub continued to bite down on Burton’s fingers. He said that’s when Officer Amanda Enriquez arrived and used a stun gun two or three times on Weintraub, which proved unsuccessful in getting Burton’s fingers out of the defendant’s mouth. Enriquez then shot Weintraub once, resulting in a non-life-threatening injury. Burton suffered injuries described as moderate and was hospitalized, police said at the time. He regained full use of his injured hand, police Lt. William Hutchinson said. Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.