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Port Coquitlam pepper spray suspect charged

The man arrested for allegedly blasting three people with pepper spray at the Waves Coffee House on Shaughnessy Street earlier this week has been formally charged.

The man arrested for allegedly blasting three people with pepper spray at the Waves Coffee House on Shaughnessy Street earlier this week has been formally charged.

Rozbeh Mehdi Jahanbakhsh is facing two counts of assault with a weapon and one count of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. The 27-year-old PoCo resident was taken into custody at around 10 a.m. Monday after he was arrested a short distance from the coffee shop. He was expected to appear in court on Thursday, after The Tri-City News' deadline.

Coquitlam RCMP Cpl. Jamie Chung said the victims of the assault are co-operating and police are still investigating what sparked the incident.

"As far as motive is concerned, we can't really comment on that," he said. "We can't really say anything at this point."

This is not the first time Jahanbakhsh has had trouble with police.

Last June he was arrested in Burnaby and charged with two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and one count of possessing body armour without a permit. His trial in that matter is expected to begin in June.

In July of 2009 Jahanbakhsh was again arrested for possession of a firearm contrary to an order.

"He has a history of non-positive police contact," said Coquitlam RCMP Cpl. Jamie Chung. "We have dealt with him in a not so positive way."

Chung added that for this file, there is no indication that Jahanbakhsh is linked to any gang "but that is not to say that it is not a possibility."

Several witnesses gave Mounties their accounts of what happened at the coffee shop on Monday but police are looking for others to come forward.

Anyone who saw the incident or has any information is asked to call the Coquitlam RCMP at 604-945-1550 and quote file number 2012-9344.