This story started way back on Sunday, May 8, at 12 p.m., when Santa Monica Police officers responded to a report of an assault that occurred in the area of Third Street and Broadway. When the officers arrived at the scene they spoke to the victim, a panhandler, who told them that the suspect, a fellow panhandler, had begun to argue with him about the territory at which they were both soliciting donations from pedestrians. Apparently, there were not enough donors in the territory to make both of their enterprises financially viable; in other words, the rival was accusing him of stealing “accounts.”
The victim told the officers that he had ignored the other panhandler, and at that point the other panhandler produced a knife from his pants pocket, and informed the victim that he was going to kill him. The rival panhandler then approached the victim and attempted to stab him in the stomach. It was then that the victim decided to run away and call the police. On that day though, the officers could not find the suspect.
Fast forward to Saturday, June 25, at 9:41 a.m. and officers on patrol saw this suspect in the 1400 block of Third Street, and took him into custody. The 50-year-old Santa Monica man was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. His bail was set at $20,000.
Editor’s Note: These reports are part of a regular police coverage series entitled “Alert Police Blotter” (APB), which injects some minor editorial into certain police activities in Santa Monica. Not all of the Mirror’s coverage of incidents involving police are portrayed in this manner. More serious crimes and police-related activities are regularly reported without editorial in the pages of the Santa Monica Mirror and its website, smmirror.com
