Two Arizona men arrested in connection to a brutal and random attack of a man in Santa Monica in the early morning hours of Thursday, Sept. 22, are fighting extradition with a court hearing scheduled for next Wednesday.
Fountain Hill resident Bryan Scott Hale, 24, and Tempe resident Brett Davis, 25, were arrested last Friday night and are currently being held at the Fourth Avenue Jail in downtown Phoenix on attempted murder charges with bail set at $1,030,000 for each of the suspects.
At about 2:20 a.m. on Sept. 22, Santa Monica police responded to the 3100 block of Santa Monica Boulevard regarding an assault that had just occurred.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the victim was walking westbound on the north sidewalk of Santa Monica Boulevard.
The victim was approached by two suspects who, without provocation, brutally beat the victim about the face and head with hand weights that the victim was exercising with.
The victim sustained major injuries to his head, face, and neck.
Santa Monica Police Department Sgt. Richard Lewis said he firmly believe the two men would be released into SMPD’s custody on or soon after next Wednesday’s extradition hearing in Arizona.
Lewis said the two men face 15 years to life if convicted, but the sentencing would all depend on what they are ultimately charged with.
“If it was just a straight attempted murder and let’s say the person heals and there are no lasting permanent injuries, obviously they can be looking at less time,” Lewis said. “But if you have mayhem involved in the case, which is permanent disfigurement, if you have great bodily injury, obviously with attempted murder there usually is great bodily injury, those are enhancements and that adds time.”
If there are weapons used or if it is proved the crime was done because of race, religion, creed, color, or national origin, Lewis said these factors would also add time to the sentence.
While Lewis said he could not elaborate exactly how detectives came to track down the two men in Arizona, he could say that video surveillance of the two suspects released to the media helped develop several leads.
He said SMPD detectives have traveled to Arizona three times as part of the investigation – the first trip was made before the end of September.
“(Detectives) will go over there and be accompanied or assisted by the local agency there,” he said. “We will always make calls to let them know we’re traveling to their jurisdiction to conduct an investigation or interviews or what have you.”
Authorities say both Arizona men were working for a moving company and were in the Los Angeles area on a job, according to The Arizona Republic.
The unnamed victim is a 45-year-old movie producer who was out exercise-walking with weights when Hale and Davis attacked him.
While he is expected to survive, doctors say long-term effects from the beating are very possible.
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