Homer Woman Arrested After Spraying Neighbor With Bear Spray

On Sunday, March 2nd, State Police at Homer arrested a Homer woman for an arrest warrant from an incident back on February 11th. Troopers arrested 60 year old Maxine A. Malone of Homer on the charge of Unlawfully Possessing a Noxious Material, a Misdemeanor. 

Back on February 11th, Troopers responded to an address on Mountain View Drive in Homer for a reported dispute. After arriving at the scene and investigating the reported dispute, Troopers learned Malone and a neighbor had gotten into a verbal dispute.

It was during that dispute that State Police say Malone took a can of bear spray out of her vehicle and then sprayed the neighbor and the neighbor’s dog. Both the neighbor and the dog were evaluated on scene by TLC Ambulance. 

State Police tell X101 News, it is legal to carry pepper spray for self-defense, but the canister itself must be no larger than .75 ounces with the concentration of the active chemical content (capsaicinoids) not exceeding .7%.

In this case, Malone’s bear spray was 7.9 ounces and contained 2% of capsaicinoids. She was transported to the State Police Barrack in Homer for processing before being transported to the Cortland County Correctional Facility for Centralized Arraignment.