BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — A Bakersfield man was arrested after San Luis Obispo police said he pepper-sprayed five adults and two children during a parking lot dispute, then was later found with an improperly stored handgun in his vehicle.
The San Luis Obispo Police Department said on Thursday, July 30, 2026, at around 11:45 a.m., the department received a call about an incident that happened in the Food 4 Less parking lot in the 3900 block of S. Higuera.
Police said a family of five adults and two children got into an argument with a man, later identified as 38-year-old Travis Franco of Bakersfield.
According to police, during the argument, one of the adult victims feared for the safety of their family and displayed pepper spray to compel Franco to leave them alone.
Franco went to his vehicle and then returned with his own pepper spray and sprayed the adults and the children, according to SLO police.
Police said Franco then left the area as police were called. The victims were treated by SLO Fire and SLO Ambulance at the scene.
A county-wide alert was sent out, and the suspect was later found in Avila Beach by the California Highway Patrol and Port San Luis Harbor Patrol. SLOPD responded and took Franco into custody.
When officers arrested Franco, he was also in possession of a gun in his vehicle, according to police. The handgun was not stored properly per California law and was seized.
Franco was taken and booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail for felony child abuse, misdemeanor unlawful use of pepper spray, and misdemeanor improper storage of a firearm in a vehicle.
If anyone has additional details regarding this incident, they are asked to call Officer Bracy at 805-594-8087 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 805-549-7867.