Police have arrested a 46-year-old man in connection with an estimated 40 incidents where people in cars were hurt by bricks, one fatally, when they were thrown onto Highway 242 in the East Bay.
The incidents took place between September 2019 and January 2021.
The Mercury News reported that Mark Navone, 46, was arrested last Friday on seven felony counts, including murder and mayhem. Contra Costa County prosecutors charged Navone with murdering 63-year-old Margarita Ruiz of Antioch, who was struck by a brick as she rode in a vehicle last April.
Ruiz was reportedly in the vehicle with her three grandchildren when it happened. Her 20-year-old grandson was driving northbound on Highway 242 at the time, according to the paper.
Navone has also been charged with mayhem for allegedly throwing a brick at a driver who was partially blinded and suffered a fractured skull in December.
The brick came through the victim's windshield and hit her in the head.
The projectile didn’t hit a vehicle in many of the incidents, the paper reported. Navone was initially arrested in January as he walked along Highway 242. He was carrying a backpack with large rocks and bricks similar to those used in the attacks. He was released but arrested again last week.
