Charges Filed in Road Rage Incident

Prosecutors filed criminal charges Wednesday against a Tarzana man who allegedly punched a woman in the face and threw her on the hood of her car during a case of road rage, according to the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

James Earl Hamlin, 42, was charged in Van Nuys Municipal Court with battery and false imprisonment in the Oct. 1 evening rush-hour incident. If convicted, he faces a possible maximum penalty of one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine for each count, said Mike Qualls, spokesman for the city attorney.

The 34-year-old female driver had been waiting in traffic on White Oak Avenue, trying to enter the Ventura Freeway, when a black BMW cut her off and pulled in front of her, the woman told police investigators. She reacted by honking her horn.

The BMW driver blocked the woman’s car, got out and walked toward her, Qualls said. The woman also got out of her car. The man then punched the woman’s face, threw her on the hood of her car and hit her several more times before getting back into his car and driving away.

The woman suffered pain and numbness around her face, and some of her hair had been pulled out, according to authorities.

A witness wrote down the BMW’s license plate number and called 911 with her cellular phone. Officers of the LAPD’s West Valley Division then traced the ownership of the car to a Chatsworth man.

“The Chatsworth man told the police he was in the process of selling the car to Hamlin and identified him as the driver,” Qualls said.

Hamlin is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 23.