Three men, including the apparent victim in a roadside attack first seen on YouTube that garnered much media attention, were in court on Friday.
The apparent victim of the June 12 fight on the side of the Golden State Freeway appeared in a Long Beach courtroom in an earlier road-rage case involving DUI and battery charges.
Jerry Patterson, 49, was arrested Thursday on a $50,000 warrant issued in Long Beach on June 6. He was wanted in connection with a hit-and-run collision May 25 at Corona Avenue and The Toledo in Long Beach.
On Friday, he was able to postpone his arraignment for two weeks. He said he was unaware he had a court date, and that he needs time to hire his own lawyer to replace a public defender assigned to him.
Patterson faces charges of driving under the influence, hit and run and battery in connection with a May 25 case in which a man claims Patterson attacked him in a road-rage confrontation, police said.
Long Beach city prosecutor Doug Haubert said he didn't know why Patterson had chosen to reject his assigned public defender.
"I don't know the nature of the dispute,” said prosecutor Doug Haubert. “He did not get into that with the court. He just declined to accept the alternate defender and that's his choice."
Patterson was originally ordered to appear in court on June 6, but he did not show up.
The judge ordered Patterson held on $50,000 bail Friday.
"He requested the court to reduce bail or him to leave and return on his own recognizance and the judge declined to give him that privilege," said Haubert.
This is Patterson's second DUI. In 2008 in San Diego, he was arrested for drinking and driving. He pleaded no contest back then.
Patterson made headlines after he was seen in a YouTube video fighting with two other men. In that video, Patterson was thrown to the ground and kicked in the head.
Patterson told NBC4 that he suffered a concussion as a result of the incident that was sparked after he accidentally cut off the other vehicle.
Two other men, Edras Ramirez, 27, and David Mendez, 21, who were allegedly seen beating Patterson in the video, also appeared in court on Friday and have been released on bail.
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