Crime & Safety
Beaumont Man Sentenced to Probation, Community Service for Road Rage Act
According to the California Highway Patrol, James Clarkson, 57, of Beaumont, drove after a motorcyclist who passed him on Interstate 215 in Perris, tried to strike the motorcycle with his pickup, and pointed a revolver at him, on April 26, 2011.
A Beaumont man who chased down and tried to hit a motorcyclist during a road rage confrontation in Perris was sentenced Friday to six months community service and three years probation.
James Winans Clarkson, 57, pleaded guilty last month to assault with a deadly weapon, brandishing a gun and carrying a concealed weapon in connection with the April 26, 2011, attack on Interstate 215.
In exchange for Clarkson's plea, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Helios Hernandez did not sentence the defendant to prison, instead requiring him to spend six months in a sheriff's work release program.
Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The District Attorney's Office was not a party to the plea agreement.
Had he been convicted by a jury, Clarkson could have faced up to four years behind bars.
Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Clarkson went after a 23-year-old San Bernardino man riding his motorcycle southbound on I-215 after the biker sped around him.
"The defendant felt that the victim had cut him off and maybe clipped his driver's side mirror,'' Deputy District Attorney Jason Armand told City News Service last month. "So he went after the guy."
CHP Officer Sylvia Vargas said the motorcyclist was "safely splitting traffic and actually thanking motorists that shared the lane" at the time of the encounter with Clarkson.
The victim, identified only as a student, continued south on the freeway, and Clarkson allegedly chased after him in his 1998 Toyota pickup, Vargas said.
"For (three) miles, the driver of the Toyota made numerous attempts to strike and ram the rider," she said. "The rider attempted to evade the driver . . . resulting in multiple lane changes and high-speed riding."
Clarkson exited the freeway, and the motorcyclist followed him, pulling alongside to ask "what are you doing?" Armand said.
Clarkson flashed a revolver at the victim, who immediately drove away, going to the nearest police station to report what had happened and provide the pickup truck's license plate number, according to the CHP.
There were no injuries stemming from the incident, which Armand characterized as classic road rage.
The defendant, an engineer, has no prior felony convictions.
