Man accused of pepper-spraying couple, 3-year-old

A 31-year-old Medical Lake man is accused of assaulting a family with pepper spray in a dispute over a tricycle. Andrew Nelson Evans was arrested after sheriff’s deputies found a couple and their 3-year-old daughter with orange stains on their faces and arms from the spray about 5 p.m. Wednesday in the 500 block of North Brower. The girl’s skin and her mother’s skin appeared to be blistering, and sheriff’s deputies said all three reported “severe pain.” One deputy said the girl was crying and said she “hurt real bad.” Deputies say Evans had been told by his landlord that he could remove an area of grass to start a garden, and he moved the girl’s tricycle from the area, which started an argument with her mother. Evans reportedly called the woman a vulgar name, then followed her to her front door. Evans then pulled out a canister of Oleo Capsicum (pepper) spray and squirted it onto the faces and arms of the family, deputies said. “Evans said he sprayed them in the face and on their bodies because he was angry and he has a mental condition,” according to court documents. “Evans said he knew the OC spray would hurt the (family).” Pepper spray stained furnishings and walls inside the home. Evans appeared in Superior Court Thursday on three counts of third-degree assault.