One suspect has been arrested after four homeless people allegedly assaulted a man walking his dog in Ocean Beach, California.
Twenty-four-year-old Dajour Hardaway was arrested over the weekend in Murrieta, and San Diego Police Department (SDPD) detectives later booked the suspect into the San Diego Central Jail, NBC 7 reported Wednesday.
“The SDPD has issued arrest warrants for the other three accused and are still investigating the other suspects,” the outlet said.
The incident happened on November 18 outside Hodad’s, and victim Woodrow Boethel said several homeless people targeted him after harassing him for money.
Video footage showed the group appearing to hit and kick the man then drag him to the ground:
Boethel suffered a concussion, a broken hand, and additional injuries. When speaking of the suspects, he told reporters, “They need to be gotten off the streets and sent home to wherever they’re from. They’re not our problem.”
“The scourge of homeless people, and especially violent people … it’s been proliferating.”
Meanwhile, SDPD investigators are searching for three adults and a minor, asking citizens with information to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
In addition, local business operators told NBC crime has grown worse.
Last month, Hodad’s manager Chris Saltzman said, “Unfortunately the few times we’ve called police they’ve not shown up and it’s been an issue for us because I feel like, who are we supposed to call if they don’t show up?”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and local lawmakers have been arguing about who should take responsibility for the state’s homeless crisis, according to a recent report.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“For years in California, there have been disagreements over who should be in charge of the homelessness problem, as the state reportedly has over 116,000 residents sleeping on the streets — the most in the United States — in addition to being one of the most expensive housing markets across the county,” per Breitbart News.
When it came to the crime wave sweeping across the nation, citizens in President Joe Biden’s (D) America “are more likely now than at any time over the past five decades to say there is more crime in their local area than there was a year ago,” Gallup reported in October.
“The 56% of U.S. adults who report an increase in crime where they live marks a five-percentage-point uptick since last year and is the highest by two points in Gallup’s trend dating back to 1972,” the article said.
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