Charges filed against man accused of brandishing gun at juveniles in Livermore park

LIVERMORE — Ten criminal charges have been filed against a 45-year-old man arrested Nov. 22 after he allegedly pulled a gun on a group of juveniles engaged in informal boxing matches at a park, according to authorities and court records.

The suspect, Gregory Polson, of Livermore, was charged Tuesday with two felony counts of child abuse and felony counts of possession of a firearm by a narcotic addict and possession of an assault weapon. He was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of exhibiting a deadly weapon and single misdemeanor counts of possession of cocaine, possession of dangerous fireworks, possession of metal knuckles and possession of an injection/ingestion device.

He was initially being held in lieu of $190,000 bail. But at his arraignment Wednesday in Dublin, he was released on his own recognizance, over the objections of the prosecutor, by Judge Kevin Wong. The conditions of his release include staying 10 yards away from the park, not possessing any firearms and reporting to pre-trial services for drug addiction treatment, according to court records. He is scheduled to enter a plea Jan. 6.

The confrontation happened about 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Bill Clark Park in the 5400 block of Hillflower Drive.

Polson was upset over a group of juveniles engaged in informal boxing matches at the park, according to court records. He got into a verbal confrontation with them, allegedly  brandished a handgun at them and ordered them to leave, before he put the gun back in his waistband and walked away, police said.

Police were notified and were able to identify Polson as the suspect. Officers went to his home a few blocks away on Bellflower Street and arrested him.

A search warrant was also served at the home where officers said they recovered the gun used in the confrontation along with three additional firearms — an assault rifle, shotgun and another rifle, ammunition, the suspected cocaine and drug paraphernalia as well as the fireworks and metal knuckles.