Official Gets Probation for Resisting Deputy

Coachella City Councilman Gilbert Ramirez pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of resisting a peace officer, and he was sentenced to three years’ probation and ordered to enroll in a 16-week anger management course.

Ramirez, 42, was arrested in March after arguing and briefly scuffling with a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy who told him that his car would be towed.

Ramirez swore at the officer and grabbed at her police baton, forcing the deputy to strike him with the baton and use pepper spray to subdue him.

Coachella Mayor Jesse Villarreal declined to comment on Ramirez’s status as councilman. Villarreal said he would discuss Ramirez’s guilt and sentence with the city attorney.