David Romero, the Madera man who was shot in the hand and nearly killed in December after pointing a handgun at an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer is now facing felony charges for brandishing the weapon in public, according to Madera County District Attorney Michael Keitz.
Romero also faces an additional misdemeanor charge for allegedly pointing a handgun at a person during a disagreement at a local car wash last January.
Madera Police Cmdr. Dino Lawson said Romero had a concealed carry permit for his 40-caliber handgun, but he narrowly escaped being killed after he used it to threaten an off-duty CHP officer. The incident happened about 8:30 p.m. Dec. 23 at Orchard and University Avenues after an alleged bout of road rage.
On seeing Romero’s gun pointed at him, the officer pulled his own gun and in just seconds fired six shots, grazing Romero once in the hand. The other five shots reportedly landed in the driver’s seat of Romero’s pickup truck...