| By Big Radio News Staff |

Authorities say a Janesville man pointed a pistol at his stepfather, then later ditched the gun in the Rock River as police chased him down.

In a hearing this week, Rock County Court Commissioner Jack Hoag gave 20-year-old Ivan A. Rodriquez a $2,500 cash bond on reckless endangerment with a dangerous weapon and fleeing police.

Court documents say a witness saw Rodriguez arrive Saturday at the Woodland Heights mobile home park on Janesville’s south side, and that’s where he pulled a black handgun from his pants and pointed it at his father’s head.

Family members say Rodriguez had showed up in his mom’s car and pulled the gun during an argument with his father over the car.

A bystander says they saw Rodriguez and his father fighting when Rodriguez suddenly stepped back, pulled a gun, and pointed it at his father. The bystander says they saw the scene roll out as they dove for cover inside a nearby trailer.

An officer responding says they saw Rodriguez peel out of the trailer park in a car. He then fled police, leading cops on a chase from the south side to the downtown riverfront.

Prosecutors say  Rodriguez blew multiple red lights while speeding through busy traffic. He lost control while whipping a turn off West Court Street, then crashed his car into a tree planter on a sidewalk terrace, and ran off.

An officer chasing Rodriguez says they saw Rodriguez throw a black handgun off the West Milwaukee Street bridge and into the Rock River.

Court documents say Rodriguez told police he’d pulled the gun because he believed his dad had hit a family member. Rodriguez told police he never took the safety off the gun; he just wanted to scare his dad after he saw a bruise on a family member’s chest.

He says he then ran from police because he got scared.