Down by the Riverside

Normally, I would be loathe to post this video, since it's pretty violently brutal -- but as far as I can tell from watching it and from all that I've read about it, including the police write-up (from which this video comes), nobody was hurt -- remarkable as that may seem.  Especially with the lesser-known addendum.

It took place four weeks ago, on June 1, in Riverside, California, which is about an hour east of Los Angeles.  There were social protests going on there, and in middle of them a car drove up, stopped and the driver got out to throw a firecracker.

From the video released by the police, here's what happened next.  If you've seen it, stick around anyway for some additional comment which I haven't seen.

​As I said, I wouldn't have posted this if I was aware that anyone had gotten hurt.  And I don't believe that's the case.  But this falls under the heading of "Getting Your Comeuppance."

This video has gotten a little bit of attention, and where that's occurred, it usually notes that the driver was able to run off without getting hurt.  And also the person in the passenger seat was able to get out of of the car before the big kaboom. 

Fine.  But what I haven't seen mentioned -- and I only noticed by playing the video over several times and pausing it is...there is someone is the passenger-side back seat who didn't get out!!  And is in the car when the firecracker explosion goes off.  I am absolutely certain of this.  (You can check it out yourself.)  And that never gets mentioned, as far as I have seen.  Fortunately for the person, what I suspect happened that keeps them safe is that the firecracker is thrown into the front seat, and since the passenger is in the back, the seats protect the person from getting hurt by any flying debris and flames.

By the way, as you can see in the heading on the video -- with police badge logos embedded -- there was an arrest made of the driver last Tuesday, June 23rd.  Here's the official police posting with the video. 

Riverside Police Department

Riverside, CA – On Monday, June 1, 2020, there was a large and peaceful demonstration in the downtown area of Riverside. Once the peaceful protesters began to leave, a sizable group of rioters remained to cause disruption, destruction, and harm to our city. There were numerous acts of vandalism and several businesses were either looted or attempts made. There were also instances where large commercial grade fireworks were thrown at law enforcement and ignited amongst crowds of people.

One such instance was captured on video showing a vehicle stopping in the intersection of University Avenue and Orange Street with the driver placing a large firework on the street and lighting it. An unknown person in the crowd grabbed the firework and threw it back into this vehicle where it exploded. A group of onlookers and the suspect driver then assaulted this unknown person. Based on the video, detectives were able to obtain a license plate of the suspect vehicle and photos of the suspect. After further investigation, the suspect was identified as Gabriel Castillo, 20-years-old of Perris and currently on probation for evading police.

Yesterday on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, a probation search was conducted at a home in the 26900 block of Placentia Avenue in Perris and Mr. Castillo was arrested. He was later booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for the illegal fireworks violation and probation violations. He is currently being held on $50,000 bail.