SANTA ANA, Calif. — A 54-year-old Irvine man is facing multiple felony charges after allegedly targeting two Hispanic men in separate racially motivated attacks, including throwing hot coffee at one driver and punching a 72-year-old through a truck window, officials announced Thursday.
Robert Tackett was arrested by California Highway Patrol officers in Mammoth on July 24 following an investigation into two violent incidents that occurred earlier in the week. He has been charged with four felonies: assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, inflicting injury on an elder adult, and a civil rights violation.
Tackett is currently being held in Orange County Jail on $500,000 bail and faces up to eight years in state prison if convicted on all counts.
The first incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. on July 22 in Irvine, when Tackett allegedly followed a man in his work van, yelling anti-Hispanic slurs and attempting to run the victim off the road. Prosecutors say Tackett twice tried to slam his vehicle into the other driver, forcing the man to brake hard both times to avoid a crash.
Tackett then allegedly threw a hot cup of coffee into the victim’s open window, hitting him directly. The victim did not report the attack to police but posted video footage to social media, which helped investigators identify him.
Roughly eight hours later, Tackett allegedly attacked another driver — a 72-year-old man — while both were stopped at a red light in Westminster. Authorities say Tackett exited his van, approached the pickup truck, and repeatedly punched the elderly man through his open window while shouting racial slurs and profanity. The man attempted to defend himself, but was struck several times.
A nearby driver recorded the incident and later provided the video to the Irvine Police Department after recognizing Tackett from footage of the earlier attack.
Tackett was tracked down and taken into custody two days later.
Authorities confirmed that both attacks are being prosecuted as hate crimes.