Ex-OCC student accused of carving swastika and racial slur into campus security vehicles pleads guilty to vandalism and other charges

A former Orange Coast College student charged with vandalizing two campus security vehicles and repeatedly returning to the school in violation of a court order could face up to a year in jail when he is sentenced next month.

Robert Bouton McDougal, 22, of Costa Mesa pleaded guilty Thursday as part of a plea bargain to one count of felony vandalism. He also pleaded guilty to eight misdemeanors, including three counts of resisting a peace officer, two counts of disobeying a court order, one count of vandalism, one count of providing false information to a police officer and one count of remaining on campus without consent, according to Orange County Superior Court records.

McDougal’s attorney, John Christl, said Tuesday that the felony vandalism charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor at the sentencing hearing Aug. 30.

Superior Court Judge Kazuharu Makino last week put a one-year “lid” on McDougal’s sentence, meaning his punishment cannot exceed a year in jail, Christl said.

“Overall to assist Robert in his future endeavors, this is the best outcome,” Christl said.

According to Orange Coast College officials, McDougal’s issues at the Costa Mesa campus began in February 2017 when he began incessantly emailing his chemistry instructor asking to retake an exam with the help of a calculator.

He had received a “B” on the exam without a calculator, a lower grade than he had expected. The instructor, Amy Hellman, declined his request to retake the test, according to transcripts of emails filed in Superior Court in March 2017.

A week after the exam, school officials say, McDougal — who had dropped the course — barged into the classroom while other students were present. Security officers escorted McDougal out of the building, but when they weren’t looking, he ran back inside and sprinted in circles around the classroom, according to a Costa Mesa police report.

Prosecutors allege McDougal yelled a racial slur at a campus safety officer, and security officers eventually used pepper spray to subdue him after he kicked them, according to police, who arrested him.

However, Christl has painted a different picture of the incident during interviews with the Daily Pilot. He has called the criminal charges “erroneous” and said the college should have handled the situation differently.

Christl said McDougal suffers from disabilities, though he has declined to elaborate.

College administrators and Hellman were aware of McDougal’s disabilities and failed to provide him with adequate resources to take the exam, Christl alleged.

Christl said McDougal was too embarrassed to ask for a calculator during the exam and that when he received his score, he became “fixated” on improving it.

According to Christl, Hellman eventually agreed to allow McDougal to retake the exam after class. However, when McDougal arrived, campus security was waiting for him, Christl said.

At the behest of college officials, Superior Court Judge Michael McCartin granted a restraining order in March 2017 barring McDougal from entering the campus or contacting Hellman.

On March 7 that year, McDougal was suspended from all Coast Community College District facilities until March 2019, according to college officials.

But he was arrested again days later on suspicion of carving a swastika and the “N-word” into the hoods of two OCC security vehicles and slashing the tires. He was booked into Orange County Jail and later posted bail.

Prosecutors allege McDougal returned to the campus several times in violation of the protective order.

McDougal filed a civil lawsuit against the college in March this year alleging negligence, emotional distress, assault, battery and false imprisonment on the part of the college and school officials.

The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, is ongoing. A case management conference is scheduled for Aug. 1, according to court records.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN