A Santa Monica woman had a terrifying run in with a 42-year-old homeless man who was hiding in the back of her car in the 1500 block of Wilshire Boulevard and tried to grab her on Aug. 18.
At 3:05 p.m. SMPD officers began responding to the location.
As they were approaching the location they were informed by the dispatcher that a woman had entered her car and a man who had been hiding in the back of the car had tried to grab her. When the officers arrived they spoke with the victim.
This woman was very distressed and traumatized by the experience, to the point where she almost couldn’t stand up.
She managed to tell the officers however that she returned to her car, walked around the rear of the vehicle, opened the driver’s door and sat in the driver’s seat.
As she was attempting to start the car she felt a hand grab her arm so she looked back and saw a man sitting in the back of her vehicle.
The woman then screamed and flailed her arms around in a panic. She was able to exit the vehicle and the man soon followed suit and fled.
The officers asked the woman what she thought the man was going to do and she replied that she thought he was going to rape or kidnap her, or both.
The officers had, with the assistance of other police units set up a perimeter, and with the help of some witnesses this man was discovered in a nearby apartment complex and then identified by the victim.
This 42-year-old homeless man was arrested and charged with kidnapping, carjacking and a probation violation. His bail was set at $100,000.
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.
