A suspect in what police called a “callous” attack on an Uber driver in San Francisco has been arrested in Las Vegas.
Malaysia King, 24, was apprehended on assault charges by Las Vegas police on Thursday. A fellow passenger, Arna Kimiai, 24, said through her lawyer that she would turn herself in, according to the San Francisco Police Department.
The two were among three riders who drew national scorn for Sunday’s alleged assault that was captured on video by driver Subhakar Khadka, a 32-year-old from Nepal who said the passengers screamed racist slurs at him.
Khadka refused to drive the women further after he noticed one wasn’t wearing a mask. The confrontation boiled over. The unmasked Kimiai is seen in the footage coughing on Khadka, snatching his cellphone and tearing off his mask, while King and their companion berated the operator.
King pepper-sprayed Khadka through a window as they exited and fled, cops said.
She faces charges in San Francisco of assault with a caustic chemical, assault and battery, conspiracy and violation of health and safety code. She was jailed without bail in Nevada as a fugitive from another state, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported.
In a video she posted on Instagram later, Kimiai said was she was “wrong” and “disrespectful,” but accused Khadka of trying to put them out of his car in an unsafe neighborhood.
She told law enforcement she would surrender “soon,” the SFPD said.
“We’re glad to hear that Ms. Kimiai intends to do the right thing and turn herself in to the nearest law enforcement agency, and we hope it happens promptly,” Lt. Tracy McCray said in a statement. “The behavior captured on video in this incident showed a callous disregard for the safety and wellbeing of an essential service worker in the midst of a deadly pandemic. We take this conduct very seriously in San Francisco, and we’re committed to ensuring that justice is done in this case.”