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Nov 04, 2024

Woman charged after allegedly pepper spraying Uber driver | Toronto Sun

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. A 23-year-old New York City woman has been hit with several charges after allegedly pepper-spraying an Uber

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

A 23-year-old New York City woman has been hit with several charges after allegedly pepper-spraying an Uber driver earlier this year.

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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. said in a media release that Jennifer Guilbeault was indicted by a grand jury on one count of second-degree assault as a hate crime, third-degree assault as a hate crime and second-degree aggravated harassment, stemming from an incident in late July.

At about 12:15 a.m. on July 31, Guilbeault and a friend were in an Uber vehicle driven by Shohel Mahmud when she allegedly pepper-sprayed the driver after he prayed in Arabic while stopped at a red light in the Upper East Side in Manhattan.

The woman allegedly lunged from the back seat to spray the driver in the face.

The incident was captured on the vehicle’s surveillance camera, The New York Times reported. The footage allegedly showed Guilbeault grabbing Mahmud and spraying him in the face as her friend watched on with her hand over her mouth.

Bragg said the driver experienced “burning, redness and pain” and called 911 minutes after the attack. The woman was arrested at the scene.

“I’m kind of hanging out of the car, so I take my buckle off, close my eyes, and get out, and then I realized my car was still running,” Mahmud told ABC 7 NY after the attack. “I jumped in and put it in park and got out.”

Guilbeault has pleaded not guilty and was subsequently released from custody. She’s expected back in court in January.

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