Local News in Brief : Anaheim : Man Jailed in Attacks Using Caustic Chemical
A 23-year-old Buena Park man suspected of injuring women by pouring a caustic chemical on their car seats or bar stools was in custody Tuesday in Anaheim, authorities said.
Richard Edward Smart was arrested Monday on suspicion of robbery and assault with a caustic chemical, Police Lt. Peter De Paola said. Smart was held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Stewart is suspected of at least five assaults in Anaheim since fall, De Paola said.
He has also admitted one such assault in Cypress and has been linked to four similar cases in that city dating back to December, 1986, Cypress Police Detective Larry Jordan said. The most recent Cypress case occurred Jan. 8, Jordan said.
De Paola said Smart would place the chemical where his victim was about to sit--typically on a car seat or a bar stool. He apparently did not know his victims, De Paola said.
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