Man Charged with Forcing SJ Motorist to Drive Him at Gunpoint

BANNING (CNS) – A 26-year-old man accused of holding a motorist at gunpoint and forcing the victim, accompanied by his young son, to drive him through San Jacinto was charged Thursday with kidnapping and other offenses. Branden Marquis Williamson of San Jacinto was arrested Monday following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation. Along with the two counts of kidnapping, Williamson is charged with armed robbery and child cruelty, along with sentence-enhancing allegations of committing a crime while on bail and using a firearm during the commission of a felony. He made his initial court appearance Thursday before Superior Court Judge Joshlyn Pulliam, who appointed him a public defender and scheduled his arraignment for Friday at the Banning Justice Center. Williamson is being held without bail at the nearby Smith Correctional Facility. According to sheriff’s Sgt. Anthony Pelato, about 7:40 a.m. Monday, Williamson allegedly confronted a man and his 7-year-old son outside a San Jacinto home, pointed a rifle at them and ordered the victim to drive him to a business district at South Sanderson Avenue and West Esplanade Avenue. Pelato said the defendant got out of the car at the location, and the man immediately called 911. "The caller and child were unharmed during the incident," the sergeant said. Patrol deputies converged on the area, initiating a search that ended less than an hour later at Commonwealth and Lyon avenues in neighboring Hemet, where Williamson was taken into custody without incident, according to the sheriff’s spokesman. He said despite a thorough search of the surrounding area, the rifle was not located. Williamson has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County. Details on his earlier arrest and release from jail were unavailable. Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.