Public Safety
Man Suspected With Knife, Threatening to Kill Employees Behind Bars
PALM DESERT (CNS) – Community members helped deputies in the arrest of a 37-year-old man who allegedly pulled a knife and threatened to kill employees at a Palm Desert country club, authorities said Thursday. Jeffrey Bryson Searcy of Palm Desert was arrested Wednesday morning on suspicion of making criminal threats, brandishing a weapon and resisting an officer, according to Sgt. Bryan Whitley and Lt. Chris Willison of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Whitley and Willison said that deputies responded around 12:30 p.m. Monday to the 41500 block of Woodhaven Drive to a report of a man who pulled a knife and threatened to kill employees. An extensive search was conducted in the area but Searcy, the suspect, was not found that day, according to authorities. On Wednesday morning, deputies did a welfare check on him in the 77600 block of South Woodhaven Drive, where Searcy allegedly said he was armed with a gun and would shoot anyone who tried to assist him. Deputies called additional resources and established a perimeter to ensure the safety of community members, Whitley and Willison said. Searcy was taken into custody after several hours of negotiations. Searcy was booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio, where he remains held on $1 million bail, according to inmate records. "No one was injured as a result of this incident and there is no further threat to the community," Whitley and Willison said in a statement. "We would like to thank the affected residents of Palm Desert for their continued patience and their assistance during this high-risk incident." Authorities additionally encouraged residents to be vigilant and get to know their neighbors in case a similar incident occurs in their neighborhood, stating that building neighborly relationships keep everyone safe. Anyone with additional information on the criminal threats was asked to call Deputy Ford of the Palm Desert sheriff’s station at 760-836-1600 or Valley Crime Stoppers anonymously at 760-341-7867(STOP). Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.
By: Pristine Villarreal
April 13, 2023