Man arrested after alleged battery and DUI in Pioneertown, abandoning car and fleeing into STR
A man was arrested after allegedly crashing and abandoning a Tesla in Pioneertown while fleeing a reported incident of domestic battery.
On Saturday (7/25) night at around 11:00 p.m., Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a call in the 53600 block of Pioneertown Road in Pioneertown. According to deputies, an employee at a local business called law enforcement after Ira Washburn, 40, had allegedly grabbed a female victim by the neck in an effort to force her into their vehicle. Deputies say that the incident took place in a parking lot in Pioneertown, after which Washburn fled the scene. Deputies say that it is unknown whether the victim received medical treatment.
Shortly after, at around 11:25 p.m., the California Highway Patrol received a report of a collision near the intersection of Pioneertown Road and Skyline Ranch Road in Pioneertown. According to preliminary information released by the California Highway Patrol, law enforcement found an abandoned white Tesla that had apparently struck a guardrail. The information indicates that CHP officers contacted the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office inquiring where they could find the suspect.
Deputies say that Washburn was contacted at a vacation rental in the 62200 block of Cummins Way in Joshua Tree. Preliminary information put out by CHP indicates that at approximately 12:35 a.m., Washburn was allegedly refusing to exit the residence. Approximately twenty minutes later, deputies took the suspect into custody.
Ira Washburn was arrested for an investigation into one count of domestic battery of an intimate partner and two counts related to driving under the influence of alcohol. He is currently being held at the West Valley Detention Center on $25,000 bail.
