Festival encounters yielded an unexpected duo: a sheriff's deputy, allegedly a stalker, as per her lawsuit claim.
Briana Ortega, a resident of La Quinta, has accused a former Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy, Eric Piscatella, of using law enforcement resources and databases to stalk her. The allegations, which include multiple unannounced visits to Ortega's home and inappropriate comments, have led to seven felony charges against Piscatella.
The saga began at a family fair in Coachella, where Ortega first encountered Piscatella. Court records show that Piscatella searched Ortega's name and the city of La Quinta in law enforcement databases shortly before sending her a text. This was just the beginning of a series of disturbing incidents.
Ortega claims that Piscatella made inappropriate comments to her during one of their encounters and showed up at her home unannounced multiple times. During one such visit, Piscatella let himself into Ortega's home and stood in her living room, talking to her children. Ortega, feeling threatened, surreptitiously recorded the deputy during this visit.
Piscatella was charged with seven counts of illegally using law enforcement databases to look up information about Ortega. He resigned from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department last October. At a July court hearing, Piscatella made an open plea to the court seeking to downgrade each charge to a misdemeanor and avoid jail time. However, Superior Court Judge Helios J. Hernandez rebuffed the attempts to argue for lesser charges and sentenced Piscatella to probation and community service, ordering him to stay away from Ortega.
Ortega feels law enforcement failed her at every level. She now turns the other direction and grows anxious anytime she sees a Sheriff's Department cruiser. Ortega has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Piscatella, the department, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
Piscatella continued to use law enforcement databases to keep tabs on Ortega in the months that followed, including searching her name and running her license plate in May 2024 and July. Riverside County prosecutors filed these charges, but a Riverside County judge downgraded all charges against Piscatella to misdemeanors, and he received probation.
However, records show that prosecutors have appealed the decision. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department's spokesperson declined to comment on the pending litigation. Despite his guilty plea to misdemeanor charges, Deputy Eric Piscatella could still work as a police officer.
Ortega's attorney, Jamal Tooson, noted that Piscatella still knows where she lives and asked, "When can you ever feel safe? You almost feel trapped, in your own house." This question hangs heavy over Ortega's ongoing legal battle, as she seeks justice and accountability for the actions of the former deputy.
