Cops: Man and 2 teens pepper sprayed in road rage incident
HICKSVILLE, N.Y. --The lawyer for a man accused of pepper spraying a father and his teenage children in a road rage incident on Long Island said his client was acting in self defense,reports CBS New York.
Police said Robert Labella, 58, cut off another driver at the entrance to a mall in Hicksville on Tuesday. Both drivers ended up in a Target parking lot where police allege Labella started cursing at the other driver, who had his 14-year-old son and 19-year-old daughter in the car with him.
Labella then sprayed pepper spray into the other driver's car, hitting the man and his children, police said.
A witness intervened and had his wrist slammed into a parked car as he tried to help the victims subdue Labella, who managed to get away, according to police.
Police later tracked him down at his home in Sea Cliff, New York, where he was arrested.
But Labella's attorney told CBS New York that his client was defending himself.
"My client made a traffic error, cut somebody off by mistake, they chased him into a parking lot, they got out of the vehicle and started attacking him. He reached for mace that he had in his car and defended himself with it," attorney Mark Gan said. "He didn't get physical with them, in some sense, thankfully he had something that does not cause permanent harm or permanent damage."
Labella faces multiple charges including assault, criminal possession of a weapon and child endangerment.
No serious injuries were reported in the incident.