Someone Threw a Rubber Ball at Me While I Was Driving

My question involves criminal law for the state of: California

I was driving in a residential zone and was going 25 mph. There was a white Lexus doing a u turn and then stopped on the side of the road as I was approaching. So I went past them and took a left up a hill. I was going 25 mph and the owner of a house to the right threw a rubber ball at my car as I was going by and shouted "you're going too fast" after that, the white Lexus pulled up next to him and I drove off because I had to go to my s/o house to say goodbye because she's going on a trip. I came back and the white Lexus was gone and a white suv was leaving the house. What should I do?

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Quoting UsernameValidFo

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My question involves criminal law for the state of: California

I was driving in a residential zone and was going 25 mph. There was a white Lexus doing a u turn and then stopped on the side of the road as I was approaching. So I went past them and took a left up a hill. I was going 25 mph and the owner of a house to the right threw a rubber ball at my car as I was going by and shouted "you're going too fast" after that, the white Lexus pulled up next to him and I drove off because I had to go to my s/o house to say goodbye because she's going on a trip. I came back and the white Lexus was gone and a white suv was leaving the house. What should I do?

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Why do you think you should be doing anything? Did the rubber ball damage your car?

What do you WANT to do?

In theory, the other driver committed a misdemeanor by throwing something at you and your vehicle on the roadway. You can call the police and report it, pursue a citizen's arrest and go to court to pursue criminal charges. On the other hand, you can chat with the neighbor if you feel it will do some good. Or, you can let it go.

Absent any damage, it seems a tempest in a teapot to me.

sounds like you might need to slow down.... and heed the warning, especially if neither you nor your car were hurt. The ball easily could have been from a child nearby.

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Quoting hr for me

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sounds like you might need to slow down.... and heed the warning, especially if neither you nor your car were hurt. The ball easily could have been from a child nearby.

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I was going 25 mph. And I saw the adult throw the ball at me. I just want the adult to know that acting like that is irresponsible and childish.

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Quoting llworking

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Why do you think you should be doing anything? Did the rubber ball damage your car?

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It made a small dent on the side of my car. It just bothers me how an adult can be of such childish nature

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Quoting cdwjava

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What do you WANT to do?

In theory, the other driver committed a misdemeanor by throwing something at you and your vehicle on the roadway. You can call the police and report it, pursue a citizen's arrest and go to court to pursue criminal charges. On the other hand, you can chat with the neighbor if you feel it will do some good. Or, you can let it go.

Absent any damage, it seems a tempest in a teapot to me.

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Like I said to the other people, there is a small dent. The adult was behaving like a child and I was going 25 mph.

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Quoting UsernameValidFo

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Like I said to the other people, there is a small dent. The adult was behaving like a child and I was going 25 mph.

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Then you have a number of choices. Call the police, don't call the police, get estimates and sue, or don't sue. Your call.

Though, proving damage from a rubber ball might be a stretch.

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Quoting cdwjava

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Though, proving damage from a rubber ball might be a stretch.

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Exactly. Unless the OP can proved exactly where the ball hit the car and that there was no damage there prior, it's gonna be a tough sell.

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Quoting free9man

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Exactly. Unless the OP can proved exactly where the ball hit the car and that there was no damage there prior, it's gonna be a tough sell.

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Yeah. Unless this was like a rubber softball (those hard rubber monstrosities that dent heads) I'm not sure that it'll be an easy sell.

Though, CVC 23110(a) would still apply for tossing an object at a vehicle. But, as a misdemeanor without injury or clear damage, it will not exactly be a high police priority. And given that a couple days have now passed, no citizen's arrest is likely to be an option.

Yeah, this is the kind of things that police won't pursue becuase the odds of it turning into $$ are super low.

Having irate residents throwing things at passing cars, potentially leading to escalation and serious conflicts are WAY less important than not curbing your wheels, $75, or a rolling stop, $382, thank you very much.

Smart policing.

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Quoting adam_

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Yeah, this is the kind of things that police won't pursue becuase the odds of it turning into $$ are super low.

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No ... it's something they will likely write a report on if the victim/complainant really wants to pursue the matter, though it's not going to be high on their to-do list because it is about as low level an offense (in THIS instance) as you can get. But, it's something the DA will not likely pursue because it's not worth the expenditure of resources to try a person in a case without clear damage, injury or risk of harm. They have to prioritize like everyone else.

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Having irate residents throwing things at passing cars, potentially leading to escalation and serious conflicts are WAY less important than not curbing your wheels, $75, or a rolling stop, $382, thank you very much.

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<sigh> That would probably be $283 ... and that's what the defendant on a traffic cite might pay. The agency might receive as much as $9 for a moving violation costing you $283, and maybe $60 of a $75 parking cite (something that the POLICE are not typically directly involved in). But, as I said, priorities and resources being what they are, low level misdemeanors with very low probabilities of prevailing at trial are not going to be high on anyone's list.

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Smart policing.

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If you want police and prosecutorial resources to be so broad that these matters are pursued, then contact your state legislator and suggest the massive tax increase that might be necessary to support such activity.

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Quoting cdwjava

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If you want police and prosecutorial resources to be so broad that these matters are pursued, then contact your state legislator and suggest the massive tax increase that might be necessary to support such activity.

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What with the retirement and disability we pay, its no wonder it will take even more $$$.... but Im getting political now.

All Im talking about is a cop knocking on the door and telling the offender to knock this crap off. That kind of policing.

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Quoting adam_

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What with the retirement and disability we pay, its no wonder it will take even more $$$.... but Im getting political now.

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You are, but doing so without understanding anything more than a few errant headlines. Hint: The "retirement" pay is NOT all that so many people think it is. I have to continue to work 1 1/2 jobs in order to pay the bills even after retiring. Only city managers and chiefs in big cities draw down the big dollars. But, even budgeted positions are going unfilled in most agencies so the resources simply are not there. The aggressive investigation of an incident where a rubber ball is bounced off of a car is neither likely to inflame the electorate or anyone in the justice system in a time when burglaries and battery lack the resources to be pursued.

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All Im talking about is a cop knocking on the door and telling the offender to knock this crap off. That kind of policing.

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That would require the OP to CALL the police - which they did not do. But, depending on the agency and their policies and practices, they may not respond for a cold misdemeanor where all the OP wants is to give the neighbor a stern finger wagging.