The CEO of Palm Springs-based Verings-based Verings Stores was released on $2 million bail Thursday, jail records show. The release came the day William Frank Rodriguez pleaded guilty to manslaughter in what police are calling a hit-and-run that killed a 60-year-old man in Cathedral City last year.
Rodriguez was arrested and booked into the Benoit Detention Center in Indio on Monday after a warrant issued. The woman who died in the crash was Christina Barrington of Cathedral City.
For murder, Rodriguez is charged with hit and run resulting in serious bodily injury and operating a vehicle with a suspended or revoked driver’s license from a burning or revoked license.
William “Billy” Rodriguez talks about the event Oct. 19, 2024, eight days after police say he beat and killed a woman, he fled the scene.
Police say Rodriguez, now, had been drinking the night before the crash, at two bars in downtown Palm Springs, and was seen at the second bar as he left the second bar.
Rodriguez was arraigned Wednesday before County Circuit Court Judge Dean Benjamini, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for Friday, Oct. 24, at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Rodriguez was held without bail at the beginning of his arrest. Benjamini granted him bail on Wednesday despite the prosecutors’ arguments in court that he is a danger to society and should be kept in custody, according to the Kesq report.
Rodriguez’s arrest came more than a year to the next day, at 12:46 AM Oct. 11, 2024, Cathedral City police at Palm Canyon drive and BASTSIDE DRIVE regarding a woman and a dog down the street. Barrington’s motorcycle was found about 1,400 feet east of him, near the intersection of East Palm Can Dandon drive and Cathedral Canyon drive.
Barrington sustained critical injuries and was transported to an area medical facility. He died the next day. The dog was injured, but survived and was reunited with family members.
During the investigation, police said they “learned that the Scooter was traveling on Eastbound East Palm Canon drive when another vehicle struck the rear.” They say Barrington was thrown from his seat as the vehicle dragged the scooter “a significant distance” while fleeing the scene, according to police.
Police said an investigation by the Cathedral City Bureau showed Rodriguez was driving his black 2021 Porsche when he struck the motorcycle and fled the scene. After the collision, investigators said Rodriguez turned south on South Kisdon Canyon Drive and “walked down the side streets to avoid being photographed,” according to court documents filed last week.
Investigators then found the Porsche in the driveway of Rodriguez at Rodriguez’s home, with damage to the front end of the car and dents “consistent with hitting the motorcycle and dragging it.”
Investigators also said that surveillance showed that Rodriguez consumed alcohol in “several places” in the hours before the crash. Rodriguez was seen leaving Bar Dick’s in Palm Springs about 10 minutes before the crash with an ‘Investigator’s Notice of Arrest Warrant’.
Earlier in the evening, Rodriguez attended a concert at the Accenare stadium where he shared a bottle of vodka with four of five people on the ground floor, according to a non-bailable prosecutor’s announcement. (Eric Clapton performed at the Arena that night, Oct. 10.)
“Mr. Rodriguez never reported this collision, even if the police impounded his car, although he also reported to his co-worker that his car was stolen and damaged,” said the announcer.
Additionally, Rodriguez left the weekend after the accident to Las Vegas, where surveillance video shows him drinking, including an apparent champagne toast, police officer Jeffrey Bird of the Cathedral Country Police.
Investigators, who said they had evidence that Rodriguez had been driving with a suspended license for more than 10 years, asked to receive money “for his) chosen money, his previous flight, and its failure, and his failure to take responsibility for this collision.”
The City News Service contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared in the Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs CEO charged with murder, hit-and-run released on $2m bail
