Costa Mesa police on lookout for ‘incel’ allegedly assaulting, macing women at local bars

Costa Mesa police are searching for information leading to the arrest of a man they believe to be an “incel” — or involuntary celibate — who has allegedly verbally attacked and assaulted multiple individuals in crimes dating back to November.

Johnny Deven Young, 25, whose last known residence was Las Vegas, has been charged with six counts of hate crime, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and three counts of discharging tear gas, according to Costa Mesa Police Department spokesman Lt. Ed Everett.

The charges stem from incidents that occurred in or near the Triangle Square shopping center and the site’s parking garage, Everett reported Friday.

On Nov. 21, shortly before 1:30 a.m., police were called to the area regarding two people who’d been attacked with pepper spray, CMPD said in a news release Thursday seeking the public’s help in locating Young.

Costa Mesa police report hate crime and assault suspect Johnny Deven Young, 25, is driving, and possibly residing in, a Chevy cargo van.

(Courtesy Costa Mesa Police Department)

A woman and two male friends had been in a local bar but became separated. Later leaving the site, victims “Emily,” 24, and “William,” 29, saw their friend, 26-year-old “Miguel” on the ground and stopped to help him, according to the release.

Young reportedly approached Emily and began verbally harassing her, using explicit sexual language, asking to see her genitals and to have sex with her, police reported. He also shouted racial epithets at Miguel.

When William approached the suspect to stop him, Young allegedly sprayed him and Emily in the face with a chemical agent and fled the scene. The victims filed a report with police.

“At the time, we were not aware of any other incidents,” Everett said Friday.

On April 20, Costa Mesa police were made aware of similar incidents allegedly recorded by Young and shared on social media. One video shows a suspect following a woman in a parking structure, harassing her. Another recorded incident involves multiple women sitting on a bench.

“He appears, and one woman says, ‘Hey, get away from me.’ But he continues approaching, and she kicks him. Then he sprays her, too,” Everett said. “We have three separate incidents with at least six different victims.”

Everett said police have identified the parking structure and TIME Nightclub at Triangle Square as the location where both incidents are believed to have occurred. But the Costa Mesa incidents may not be Young’s only tangle with the law.

Everett said police in Las Vegas reported an arrest in 2019. An article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal describes how Young, then 22, and another man, 25-year-old Braxton Ryback, were arrested on Aug. 10, 2019, on suspicion of making false threats in an act of terrorism.

After being ejected from the XS Club at Encore for allegedly holding up their fists and shouting about “white power,” the two continued yelling similar remarks outside and threatened to “shoot up the place,” the Review-Journal reported.

Young returned to the scene later that morning with pepper spray and was arrested. He told police he had a gun in his parked car, the article indicated. It is unclear if he or Ryback served time for the incident.

Costa Mesa police believe Young is driving a white Chevy cargo van with a wide green horizontal stripe. He may be living inside the van or staying with a friend or social media follower.

Anyone who might have information on Young, his activities or his whereabouts is asked to contact Eric Fricke at efricke@costamesaca.gov or (714) 754-4908.

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