| For Immediate Release Case # 11WF2614 July 19, 2013 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
|
MAN FACES TRIAL FOR ASSAULTING VICTIM FOLLOWING ROAD RAGE PURSUIT AND CRASH
WESTMINSTER – A man faces trial Monday for assaulting a victim following a road rage pursuit. Robert Allen Barnhart, 54, Bellflower, is charged with two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one misdemeanor count of battery. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of five years and two months in state prison. Opening statements are expected to begin Monday, July 22, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. in Department W-9, West Justice Center, Westminster.
At approximately 10:50 a.m. on Nov. 5, 2011, Barnhart is accused of driving his Dodge Ram truck on Bloomfield Avenue in Los Alamitos when he was rear-ended by 18-year-old John Doe at a red traffic light. The defendant is accused of getting out of his vehicle and confronting the victim by yelling and making threats at him. The victim returned to his vehicle and attempted to drive away.
Barnhart is accused of getting back inside his truck, chasing the victim, and speeding up to get in front of John Doe’s vehicle. The defendant is accused of purposely swerving, using the right rear bumper of his truck to hit the front of the victim’s driver-side bumper, causing the victim’s vehicle to spin out into the opposite lane of traffic. The victim then attempted to drive away on the wrong side of the road.
The defendant is accused of speeding up and continuing to chase the victim’s vehicle. Barnhart is accused of getting in front of the victim’s vehicle and immediately swerving and braking, causing John Doe’s vehicle to slam into the passenger side of the defendant’s truck and blocking the victim from driving.
Barnhart is accused of getting out of his truck, opening the victim’s driver side door and pulling the victim out of the car, throwing him to the ground, and punching the victim with his fists. Witnesses at the scene restrained the defendant and contacted the Los Alamitos Police Department, who arrested Barnhart at the scene.
Deputy District Attorney Kristin Bracic of the Felony Panel is prosecuting this case.
###