SIMI VALLEY : Police Arrest 2 Over Sale of Pepper Spray

As part of a crackdown on the illegal sale of tear-gas products, Simi Valley police have arrested two local merchants and seized 40 canisters of a product that contains a pepper spray that authorities consider a form of tear gas, police said Friday.

Bedig Tchilingirian, operator of the Army, Navy Surplus & Paintball Store in Simi Valley, was arrested Thursday morning after he sold a canister of the product, called Pepper Shield, to an undercover police officer, police said.

Police also on Thursday arrested Daniel Patrick McDougall, co-owner and operator of Army, Navy Etc. in Simi Valley, for allegedly selling a can of the spray to an officer in disguise.

Illegal possession and sale of the oleoresin capsicum spray, commonly known as “OC” or “pepper spray,” is a growing problem throughout California, police said. The product causes the eyes to sting and water severely, police said.

Tchilingirian was charged with unlawful possession and sales of tear-gas weapons, a misdemeanor, authorities said. McDougall faces the misdemeanor charge of selling an “unregistered economic poison,” or pesticide.

Both men were released on their written promise to appear in court, police said. The men face different charges because only Tchilingirian was marketing the product as a weapon against humans, police said.

No tear-gas products are approved by the state for use against humans, authorities said. Some pepper sprays of lower concentrations can be used against animals, but Pepper Shield is not one of the so-called economic poisons that can legally be used against animals, prompting the charge against McDougall, police said.