A 54-year-old Irvine man was charged on Monday with a racially motivated road rage conflict in Irvine.
Robert Leon Tackett was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, violation of civil rights, assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury and inflicting injury on an elder adult, all felonies. He also faces sentencing enhancements for a hate crime.
Tackett was arrested about 2:30 p.m. Thursday, said Kyle Oldoerp, a spokesman for the Irvine Police Department.
Tackett was seen “yelling” at a garbage truck driver about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday when the victims in another car nearby passed by south on San Canyon Avenue near the Santa Ana (5) Freeway, Oldoerp said.
For some reason, Tackett’s attention was drawn to the other driver and he followed that vehicle, Oldoerp said. Tackett was accused of “driving aggressively and swerving into their lane multiple times,” Oldoerp said, adding that his actions nearly caused a crash.
Tackett shouted racial epithets against Latinos at the driver before hurling a cup of hot coffee into their car, splashing the victim’s face, hands and the inside of his car, Oldoerp said.
The driver made a video of the conflict and posted it on Instagram, Oldoerp said. The conflict was reported to police late Wednesday night, Oldoerp said.
Investigators asked anyone with relevant information about the suspect to contact them at rsteen@cityofirvine.org.