This story began on Thursday, Nov. 17, at 6:37 p.m. when officers of the Santa Monica Police Department went to the Ocean Park Community Center (OPCC) located at 503 Olympic Blvd. to investigate a report of assault.
When they arrived, the officers spoke with the victim, a man who was very, very drunk. He told them that he had been sitting on the sidewalk just east of OPCC when another man had joined him. He said that they had been chatting while they enjoyed a bottle of wine together (wine tasting?).
He continued to explain to the officers that suddenly, and without any warning, the other man had hit him over the head with the wine bottle, causing a one-inch laceration to the top of his head. The other man had then left, taking with him the victim’s backpack. The victim was subsequently transported to a local hospital for treatment.
The following day, Thursday, Nov. 18, a man fitting the suspect’s description was seen in the 500 block of Olympic Boulevard by other police officers. These officers, acting on evidence from witnesses, arrested the 22-year-old homeless man and he was taken to jail. His bail was set at $50,000.
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.
