Argument leads to bear spray attack at Lafayette grocery store, woman arrested, police say

By Tim Fang

An East Bay woman has been arrested on suspicion of assault for allegedly using bear spray during an argument in a grocery store parking lot over the weekend.

According to Lafayette Police, officers were called to a store on the 3600 block of Mount Diablo Boulevard around 10:40 a.m. Saturday. Police received reports of a woman using bear spray on several people before leaving the scene in her vehicle.

Witnesses were able to provide a description of the suspect vehicle’s license plate and the direction she was going. Police in Orinda found the vehicle traveling on westbound Highway 24 and detained the driver, later identified as 74-year-old Monica Thomas of Oakland.

According to the investigation, the incident stemmed from argument between two people in the parking lot. The suspect pointed the bear spray out of the driver’s side window and sprayed the other person.

Police said the suspect used the bear spray for a second time, then left the parking lot.

Eight people were exposed to the spray, police said. The victims were treated at the scene by the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, with one of the victims taken to the hospital.

Thomas was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful use of tear gas.