The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office filed a misdemeanor charge against a Green Valley motorist over an allegation she brandished a BB gun in an incident described by deputies as a “road rage,” based on a Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station investigation.
The complaint filed Wednesday alleged that 36-year-old Willow Aragno threatened another motorist after an afternoon confrontation Sept. 9 in Saugus.
SCV Sheriff’s Station detectives initially investigated the incident as an assault with a deadly weapon, which was the initial booking charge, according to L.A. County Sheriff’s Department records.
Aragno “allegedly brandished a firearm” at another driver near the intersection of Copper Hill Drive and Decoro Drive in Saugus, according to an email Tuesday from Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station
The victim was driving on Copper Hill and observed the suspect’s black Toyota driving erratically behind him, according to a request to search for the alleged weapon used in the attack.
Once both parties stopped at the Saugus intersection, the victim reported that Aragno was in a vehicle that pulled up alongside him, and she pointed a semiautomatic firearm at him, according to the search-warrant request. The detective’s request also states the victim later positively identified Aragno in a photograph lineup.
The victim told detectives that, due to his military experience, he could tell the weapon flashed was a Beretta M9, according to the statements from the detective. Detectives also reported the suspect owned a registered handgun, but it was not an M9.
A representative for the District Attorney’s Office was not immediately available Thursday to discuss the charges presented.
Aragno was arrested Monday following the SCV Sheriff’s Station investigation and then released Wednesday after her preliminary arraignment, according to court records available online.
She was released on her own recognizance.
