A woman was attacked by a homeless man while she was jogging in Santa Monica, and witnesses say he was trying to drag her into the public restrooms by her ponytail.
The Santa Monica Police Department said they responded to reports about the harrowing incident on May 13 at about 7:14 a.m. on Ocean Beach Walk near lifeguard tower 20.
“The victim, a Venice resident, was jogging southbound on the beach path when the suspect grabbed her ponytail from behind, knocking her to the ground,” police said in a statement.
“He then pulled her several feet toward the restrooms.”
Police said they found both the alleged attacker and the woman near the Bicknell restrooms and took him into custody without incident.
The victim believed that the man intended to sexually assault her, according to a report from the Santa Monica Daily Press. Witnesses to the attack reportedly intervened and called the police.
Police later identified the man as 48-year-old Malcolm Jimmy Ward Jr. and said that he was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon.
On Wednesday, Ward was charged with felony kidnapping, felony assault with intent to commit rape, and for violating his parole, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Residents of the area told KCAL-TV that violent crime has gotten worse and worse in recent years.
“I’m glad people came to her aid right away,” said Allie Trefz, a resident of Santa Monica. “Definitely more of that, that’s incredible. That’s what we should be doing is all helping each other.
“I’m careful, I have a history as a psychiatric nurse, so I have some experience, and so I’m not maybe as fearful as most people are, but I know you have to keep your distance, if people are hallucinating,” said another resident.
“Obviously, anyone who assaults someone else is not mentally in the right head space, and they need help, but somebody to do that in broad daylight, it’s like, they’re not even thinking, they’re just impulsively acting,” said Anna Meyer to KTTV-TV.
Police released a photograph of Ward in order to seek help from the public in identifying other possible victims.
The woman’s age was not disclosed. She suffered minor injuries from the incident.
The average single family home in Santa Monica costs about $1.7 million according to Reddit.
Here’s a news video about the incident:
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Homeless drags jogger, Homeless attack, Santa monica attack, California homeless crime, Crime
