Man arrested following road rage incident

Deepa Bharath

Police on Monday arrested a 26-year-old Anaheim man on suspicion of

attacking a group of young skateboarders and causing a hit-and-run

accident while trying to leave the scene, officials said.

Raymond Lopez Jr. pulled out a steering wheel locking device and

shattered the car window of the young men who he said annoyed him

minutes before the afternoon incident, Newport Beach Police Sgt.

Steve Shulman said.

He said the incident started at a commercial building on Main

Street in Irvine when the victims arrived with skateboards and Lopez

asked them to leave.

“They reportedly said a few words and made some hand gestures that

infuriated [Lopez],” Shulman said.

So Lopez got in his Chevy pickup truck and followed the victims’

car, Shulman said, with Lopez’s two brothers following in another

car. Lopez exited his car at the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard

and Jamboree Road in Newport Beach, grabbed his Club and smashed the

passenger side window of the victims’ car.

“He did not attack the victims or hit them directly with the

device,” Shulman said. “But the victims suffered cuts as a result of

the broken glass.”

Shulman said several witnesses saw the incident and called police.

Meanwhile, Lopez, while trying to get away, hit another vehicle and

left the scene of the alleged attack. Police arrested Lopez minutes

later near the intersection of Jamboree and Bison Avenue, Shulman

said.

He said Newport Beach Police will handle the case because the

incident happened in Newport, although it began in Irvine. The

incident lasted about 25 minutes, beginning at about 4:15 p.m. and

ending at 4:40 p.m. with Lopez’s arrest.

Lopez is being held in Newport Beach city jail in lieu of a

$50,000 bail. He is expected to be arraigned today at Harbor Justice

Center in Newport Beach.