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Accused Seal Beach salon killer subdued with pepper balls in jail

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The man accused of the 2011 Seal Beach salon massacre is currently under mental evaluation in a jail medical ward after having to be subdued with pepper balls when he attempted to break the windows and furniture in a jail day room.

Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County sheriff’s department, said Scott Dekraai, of Huntington Beach, was alone in a jail day room used by inmates as an exercise room on Saturday about 2:30 p.m. when he began trying to break the windows, throwing objects and screaming.

When guards arrived, Dekraai headed back into his cell and had to be forcibly removed by an extraction team of deputies, Amormino said. The team used pepper balls to subdue Dekraai, who charged at deputies. DeKraai was transferred from the Theo Lacy jail facility to the jail medical ward, where he continues to evaluated.

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Amormino said Dekraai has been kept isolated from the general population of inmates and was demanding that he be allowed to enter the general population.

Dekraai, 44, is charged with eight counts of murder in the midday massacre at Salon Meritage on Oct. 12, 2011. He was indicted in January 2012 and has pleaded not guilty. DeKraai could face the death penalty if convicted. Among the victims in the salon shooting was his ex-wife, stylist Michelle Fournier, 47. He had been involved in a bitter custody dispute with her.

This story was reported by Times Staff Writer Richard Winton.

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