A Hemet man was arrested for allegedly attacking another car — which held three people, including a child — with bear spray, in a Seal Beach road rage incident.
Marcus Kelley, 43, was arrested in Riverside County on Sunday by Seal Beach officers investigating the case.
Surveillance footage that captured the incident shows a white car turning onto a side street and stopping, with a darker car following behind. The white car parks behind a building on the right side of the frame, and a visible aerosol cloud floats from behind that building into the middle of the frame as the darker car stops nearby.
According to investigators, on June 14, Kelley was southbound on Pacific Coast Highway in his two-door 2006 Saturn, next to another vehicle. Kelley and the driver of that other vehicle then got into "a verbal altercation" around 1:55 p.m.
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The other car turned off of Pacific Coast Highway onto Anderson Street, in an attempt to distance itself from the Kelley's vehicle and end the argument, investigators said. The driver parked and stepped out of their vehicle.
Kelley then allegedly pulled up next to the driver and sprayed their car with bear spray. The windows of the car were down, letting bear spray inside.
Bear spray, similar to pepper spray, is a "highly irritating aerosolized deterrent spray," and all three people inside the victim’s vehicle, including one child, were exposed to the substance.
The victims all suffered injuries including eye and skin irritation, investigators said, and the officers responding to the scene were also affected by residual spray in the area. Orange County Fire Authority Personnel treated the victims for their injuries.
Several witnesses saw the incident, according to police, in addition to the surveillance footage.
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Kelley was booked into Orange County Jail on charges of "assault and battery, unlawful use of pepper spray, and felony child endangerment."
