Bobby Edwards arrested for January 31 attack in downtown Santa Monica
By Sam Catanzaro
Police have arrested a man for attempted murder after an unprovoked attack of a person walking in downtown Santa Monica.
According to the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) Lieutenant Rudy Flores, on January 31 around 11:21 p.m., officers responded to the intersection of 4th Street and Colorado Avenue regarding an “unknown trouble” call. When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered a male victim bleeding profusely from his face. The victim told officers he was punched several times in the face by an unknown individual and strangled to the point that he lost consciousness, Flores says.
Officers located the described subject a short distance away, identified as Bobby Gerald Edwards, a 32-year-old black male from Los Angeles. According to the SMPD, Edwards made “spontaneous statements” tying him to the attack. The victim also identified Edwards as the suspect who assaulted him.
Police say the victim believes the attack was unprovoked.
“He explained to officers that he was assaulted when he attempted to engage Edwards who was yelling and appeared to be emotionally distressed. During the assault, the suspect attempted to strangulate the victim and yelled, ‘I am going to kill you! The victim was eventually able to yell for help and police, which caused Edwards to stop, not before grabbing the victim’s phone and throwing it, preventing the victim from calling 9-1-1,” Flores said.
According to the SMPD, the victim was treated scene by Santa Monica Fire Paramedics then transported to a local hospital.
Edwards was taken into custody and was booked on a $1,100,000 bail for Attempted Murder and Preventing the use of a device to summon for help. Edwards is set to appear in court on March 18.
According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department records, Edwards was arrested by UCLA police on November 21 for unspecified charges. He was released a few hours after being held without bail. He is expected to appear in court on March 16 for this case.
Anyone with any information related to this incident is encouraged to contact Criminal Investigations Division (CID) Detective D. Larios at (310) 458-8937 or Police Dispatch at 310-458-8491.
