Fresno man who pepper sprayed Palestinian supporters at 2021 rally avoids jail time
A 64-year-old Fresno man who was charged with pepper-spraying a group of pro-Palestinian supporters at a rally near River Park in 2021 was sentenced Monday to one year of probation and 40 hours of community service.
Brian Lee Turner agreed to a plea agreement with Fresno County prosecutors who had charged him with two felony counts of using tear gas against several people attending the May 15 rally in support of Palestine.
Turner was also charged with a hate crime.
As part of the plea agreement, the hate crime charge was dropped and the felony counts were reduced to one misdemeanor. In exchange, Turner pleaded no contest to one count of using tear gas.
Judge Gabriel Brickey sentenced Turner to one year probation, plus 40 hours of community service. Brickey will also review the case in six months and if Turner is complying with the terms of his probation, he will terminate it and the misdemeanor charge will be expunged, said his attorney Marc Kapetan.
Had he not agreed to a plea agreement, Turner was facing up to five years and four months in prison.
Turner declined to comment after the hearing, but Mark Kapetan said his client is relieved it’s over.
“He was just an innocent guy who was driving home after having dinner with his mother when he got caught up in it,” Kapetan said. “He did not want to be part of it, he did not ask to be part of it. But he was being taunted, and he felt he needed to do what was necessary to protect he and his wife.”
That day about 200 supporters of Palestine gathered near the popular shopping center at Nees and Blackstone avenues to speak out about the growing acts of violence in the region.
One of the pepper-sprayed victims, 21-year-old Ahmad Qutami, testified during a preliminary hearing in April that he and two friends were in a car on Blackstone Avenue, honking and waving a Palestinian flag when Turner pulled up next to them.
Looks were exchange and then an argument ensued.
“He was staring at us and shaking his head,” Qutami said during the April hearing. “Then he started basically cussing us out, saying he doesn’t support Palestine and we are going to kill all the Palestinians, and I started cussing him out.”
A video taken by Qutami shows Turner yelling at them as the Palestinian flag is being waved near him.
The argument escalated when a backseat passenger in the car Qutami was riding in began wildly waving a flag at Turner. The passenger also opened the door and took a step out before being pulled back inside.
That’s when the pepper spraying began, Qutami testified.
The rally goers suffered burning, itchy and watery eyes. Qutami had trouble breathing and was treated at the hospital. No serious injuries were reported.
This story was originally published December 18, 2023 at 4:07 PM.
