OAKLAND — A suspect was arrested for allegedly attempting to shove another man off a crowded subway platform during the morning rush hour on May 2.
A violent scuffle erupted inside the Bay Area Rapid Transit system’s MacArthur Station in Oakland, shortly after 8 a.m., while the platform was packed with commuters.
It started when the suspect punched another man for an unknown reason and then attempted to leave, after the victim reported the incident to a station agent, according to BART police.
The victim was nearly shoved off the platform and onto the tracks below, when he tried to stop the suspect from leaving before officers arrived on the scene.
The victim defended himself with pepper spray and dropped the cannister when he mistakenly believed it was empty. Police said the suspect grabbed the cannister and aimed the pepper spray back at the other man.
Responding officers arrested the suspect James K. Lockett, a 26-year-old resident of Antioch. Lockett was booked at Santa Rita Jail with bail denied, on suspicion of attempted murder, battery on transit personnel with injury, and illegal use of tear gas.
Lockett is familiar to BART police who previously arrested him for fare evasion in February. He also has prior arrests in Antioch for battery on a person, and willfully harming a police dog.
