A 31-year-old homeless man is in custody in Santa Monica, facing multiple charges for allegedly assaulting a woman and a store employee on separate occasions.
Mario Alejandri has been charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with force for the two incidents.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 17.
The Santa Monica Police Department responded to a call on Aug. 28 reporting a woman in need of medical assistance after being attacked by a man in an orange shirt. The victim stated that the man punched her, hit her with a bottle, and tried to force sand in her mouth before fleeing the scene.
The suspect was later apprehended by authorities.
According to police, Alejandri had also been involved in another assault at a Trader Joe’s store the day before. He allegedly struck an employee in the face and threw potted plants after being asked to leave.
Alejandri has a history of prior arrests for various offenses including battery, trespassing, theft, resisting arrest, vandalism, drug possession, and contempt of court.
He is currently held on $61,000 bail.
Anyone with information about the incidents is urged to contact SMPD Detective Benjamin Jenkins at [email protected] or the watch commander at 310-458-8427.
