WALNUT CREEK — A Concord woman has been charged with spraying a 9-month-old baby boy and his father with bear mace, in a drive-by attack that authorities believe was motivated by anger at the father’s girlfriend, court records show.
Chelsea Reich, 35, was charged Sept. 21 with child cruelty, assault likely to produce great bodily injury, and misuse of tear gas, all felonies. Police say the attack occurred on Lennon Lane in Walnut Creek, while the father was carrying the baby and waiting for his girlfriend to get off work.
The father later told police that while they were waiting, a man and a woman rode up on a motorbike, sprayed them with a large canister of mace, and drove off. Both the baby and his father required treatment at a nearby hospital, police said.
Police identified Reich as a suspect and also arrested her 31-year-old boyfriend, although he has not yet been charged, records show.
According to authorities, Reich blamed the father’s girlfriend for her being fired from her previous job, providing the suspected motive for the attack.
Reich’s bail was set at $250,000. A search for her in the jail’s registry yielded no results Wednesday. She has pleaded not guilty and is due for a preliminary hearing in early October, court records show.
In a search of Reich and her boyfriend’s home, police say they seized an unregistered gun, an explosive device, and a tracking device, among other items.