(Editor’s note: This story first appeared in Westside Current November 2 and is reprinted with permission.)
In a disturbing incident on Halloween night, a violent attack took place near downtown Santa Monica. At approximately 9:50 p.m. on October 31, 2023, the Santa Monica Police Department responded to a call reporting a battery that had just occurred in the 1200 block of Lincoln Boulevard.
The victim, identified as a 79-year-old female resident, was found by officers with severe injuries, including a head wound, following an assault by four male suspects. The assailants, armed with a handgun, forcibly robbed the elderly woman of her purse before fleeing the scene in a Kia sedan. A witness provided a description of the vehicle and its license plate, which revealed that the Kia had been reported stolen from Long Beach.
Additional officers intercepted the suspect vehicle while it was driving recklessly in the southern part of the city. Despite attempts to stop the vehicle, the suspects led authorities on a pursuit that ended at 11th and Wilshire, when the driver lost control and crashed into a pickup truck.
Following the crash, two suspects were immediately apprehended at the scene, while a third was found hiding in a nearby carport and was arrested without incident. The fourth suspect managed to force his way into an occupied apartment on the 1200 block of 11th Street. The tenant was able to fend off the intruder, who was later discovered hiding on the building’s roof by an assisting LAPD helicopter.
Law enforcement found a firearm in the vicinity of the initial arrest. The victim was promptly transported to a local hospital for treatment, while the occupants of the vehicle struck during the pursuit sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
The arrested suspects were identified as Kejon Stevenson (DOB: 03/03/1999) of Los Angeles, Jacob Pugh (DOB: 04/28/2004), listed as homeless, and two 17-year-old juveniles from Los Angeles, whose identities were not disclosed.
All four suspects were charged with multiple felony offenses and booked into the Santa Monica Jail. The Santa Monica Police Department urged anyone with relevant information about the incident to reach out to the assigned detectives or contact the Watch Commander on duty at (310) 458-8427.
So we “elderly women” are low-hanging fruit to low-lifes (though one was not unattractive, and looked like a captive himself. Now, he will be off on the wrong foot, possibly for life). But an elderly woman walking alone on Lincoln at 10 p.m. sounds like the ‘law’ of natural selection at work. Same with the perps: what money or valuables did they expect to find on that woman’s person? A sad and dangerous waste of public servants’ time and adrenaline – fortunately not of their lives. S.M.P.D deserves many thanks, and much respect.
Thank goodness for the witness who helped significantly. Please let us know the 79 year old woman is OK. Scary…and a good reason not to walk alone at night even if you don’t consider yourself “elderly”, you are in the eyes of a 20 year old.