Santa Monica police arrested a 44-year-old man from Upland on Saturday, Sept. 13 after punching a man in the head for no apparent reason near an Albertson’s Market in Santa Monica.
Officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were called out to a report of a fight at the Albertson’s at 2627 Lincoln Boulevard at 8:57 am on this day.
Upon arrival the officers spoke with the victim who was suffering from injuries to his face and head.
The officers immediately summoned paramedics in order to offer medical assistance to the victim.
The victim told the officers that he had been standing in front of the Subway sandwich restaurant located at 2635 Lincoln Boulevard consuming a doughnut when all of a sudden, out of the blue, and with no warning, a man had approached him yelling noises in a manner which made the identification of words and sentences impossible.
The victim then alleged that this man then proceeded to punch him in the hand, followed up by a barrage of blows to the victim’s face and head.
The victim added that he had made attempts to hold on to his assailant in the hope that a fellow citizen would call the police.
What ensued was a wrestling bout that resulted in both parties falling to the ground whereupon the suspect attempted to choke the victim to death, or at least to a point of unconsciousness.
Eventually a security guard from Albertson’s intervened and separated the pair.
At that point the suspect fled the area. The suspect, homeless man whose homelessness is allegedly usually practiced in the area of Upland, was arrested by other Santa Monica police officers a short distance away.
This man was charged with assault with a deadly weapon (although we did not have specific information in regard to what the weapon used in this assault actually was at the time of going to press) and a trio of bench warrants. Bail was set at $34,500.
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.
