9 Felony Counts Against Deliveryman : ‘Acid Sprayer’ Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

A Van Nuys deliveryman believed responsible for more than 500 acid attacks on late-model automobiles was arraigned Friday on nine charges of spraying people and cars with hydrochloric acid in the northeast San Fernando Valley.

Thomas Lee Larsen, 37, was charged in San Fernando Municipal Court with seven felony counts of assault with a caustic chemical in connection with separate attacks on seven people between March and July. The victims, including a 9-year-old Canoga Park girl, suffered minor injuries and were not hospitalized, authorities said.

Larsen, who pleaded not guilty, was also charged with two counts of felony vandalism involving the spraying of 15 cars on May 6 and nine cars on July 16.

Previous Convictions

Arguing against a bail reduction during the arraignment, Deputy Dist. Atty. Leland B. Harris said Larsen had admitted to previous convictions for counterfeiting and child molesting.

Court Commissioner Charles L. Peven agreed to continue bail at $100,000, saying Larsen “poses a potential danger to the community.”

Larsen allegedly sprayed the acid on luxury cars parked on city streets and in parking lots during the day, Harris said. Police said committed the vandalism while making deliveries for a Chatsworth hardware company.

Investigators are still trying to compile a list of acid attacks in surrounding counties, Harris said, but they believe he is responsible for damaging cars throughout the San Fernando, Simi and Santa Clarita valleys, as well as in Ventura and Orange counties.

Larsen became a suspect after someone who saw a man spraying a car last month gave the license number of his delivery van to police, the prosecutor said. Members of a Los Angeles Police Department undercover task force arrested him Wednesday at a Valencia shopping center after one officer, who had been following Larsen, observed him squirting two cars from a spray bottle.

Larsen, who is being held in County Jail, could be sentenced to 13 years in state prison on the charges, Harris said. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 13.