A Bellflower man was sentenced last week to serve five years of formal probation, anger managment training and 185 days in jail for a road rage pursuit in Los Alamitos in November 2011.
A Bellflower man was sentenced last week to serve five years of formal probation, anger managment training and 185 days in jail for a road rage pursuit in Los Alamitos in November 2011.
Robert Allen Barnhart, 54, Bellflower, was convicted of two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one misdemeanor count of battery. He was sentenced on Friday, Sept. 27.
According to the Orange County Superior Courthouse website, Barhart was sentenced to fives years probation—which means he won’t actually serve state prison time unless he violates probation. He will also serve185 days in the Orange County Jail and will have his driver’s license revoked. He must pay restitution and attend an anger management program.
According to prosecutors, at approximately 10:50 a.m. on Nov. 5, 2011, Barnhart was driving his Dodge Ram truck on Bloomfield Avenue in Los Alamitos when he was rear-ended by 18-year-old Stanton resident, Jesse Ochoa, at a red traffic light.
Prosecutors said that Barnhart got out of his vehicle and confronted the victim by yelling and making threats at him.
The victim returned to his vehicle and attempted to drive away.
According to the defense, Barnhart considered Ochoa to be a hit-and-run driver and attempted to place Ochoa under citizen’s arrest.
The prosecution said Barnhart got back inside his truck, chased the victim, and sped up to get in front of Ochoa.
Barnhart swerved, using the right rear bumper of his truck to hit the front of the victim’s driver-side bumper, and caused the victim’s vehicle to spin out into the opposite lane of traffic.
Ochoa then attempted to drive away on the wrong side of the road.
Barnhart sped up and continued to chase the victim’s vehicle.
Barnhart got in front of the victim’s vehicle and immediately swerved and hit the brakes, which caused Ochoa’s vehicle to slam into the passenger side of the defendant’s truck and prevented the victim from driving.
Barnhart got out of his truck, opened the victim’s driver side door and pulled Ochoa out of the car, threw him to the ground, and punched Ochoa with his fists.
Witnesses at the scene restrained Barnhart and contacted the Los Alamitos Police Department, who arrested Barnhart at the scene.