Homeless Man Accused Of Trying To Drown Woman In Santa Monica: Report

SANTA MONICA, CA — A homeless man is in custody after a violent rampage at Santa Monica State Beach Monday, where he attacked three women and attempted to drown one of them in the ocean, KTLA reported.

The incident occurred just north of the Santa Monica Pier. One of the victims told the Santa Monica Closeup blog that she was sitting at the beach when she heard screaming coming from a lifeguard tower.

Then she saw a man attacking a young woman. The bystander intervened and pushed the man off of the victim. Then the man went after the young woman a second time after punching the bystander in the face, the Closeup reported.

The man stopped chasing the first victim and then turned his attention to the woman who intervened. “He tried to strangle me and bit the heck out of my ear and tried to dislodge my pants,” she told the blog.

Then, the man went after a third woman, whom he tried to drown in the ocean, according to the blog.

A lifeguard quickly intervened and police responded shortly after that, according to KTLA.

The three victims were all unrelated and included an elderly woman and a bystander who was injured after attempting to intervene. They were provided medical care at the scene, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.

A 17-year-old was transported to a local hospital for treatment of serious injuries, which were non-life-threatening, police said.

The suspect, 31-year-old Jawann Dwayne Garnett, was arrested around 9:45 a.m. Monday on the beach in the area of 1300 block of Ocean Front Walk, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. Garnett was being held without bail Tuesday, according to jail records.

City News Service contributed to this report.