By Jorge Casuso

September 24, 2024 -- Over a seven-day stretch this month, two women were sexually assaulted in public, a security guard stabbed a homeless man and a DUI driver intentionally crashed into a squad car.

The four suspects were among the 59 arrested by Santa Monica police officers between Saturday, September 14, and Friday, September 20, according to the department's weekly recap on The Blue Notebook blog.

During that period, police received a total of 2,817 calls for service, with 1,801 calls initiated by citizens and 1,016 by police officers.

About 500 of the total calls, or 18 percent, involved homeless individuals, and 16 calls involved individuals with mental health issues who posed a danger to themselves or others.

One of the two sexual attacks took place on the 1600 block of the Beach near the Santa Monica Pier, where officers responding to a call of a sexual battery found a nude male being held down by two men.

The suspect "was seen grabbing a victim’s buttocks then stripping naked and masturbating," according to the blog. He was arrested for battery and indecent exposure.

The second assault took place at a Downtown bus stop at 4th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard, where the victim was sitting with her friends waiting for an Uber to take them to the airport.

A homeless man "forced his hand down the front of her pants and under her underwear," police said. The victim’s friends and bystanders intervened. Officers used witness descriptions to locate the suspect nearby.

In a separate incident, police arrested a convicted sex offender near the pier who had failed to register with their local law enforcement agency.

There are currently 120,000 individuals on the California Sex Offender Registry, which includes the names and addresses of those convicted of crimes including a number of sexual offenses with a child.

There are a total of 59 convicted sex offenders listed in Santa Monica. Of those, 24 are homeless.

During the same seven day-stretch, a security guard at Samoshel, the homeless shelter at 5th Street and Olympic Boulevard run by The People Concern, was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.

Police found the homeless victim "with a seven-inch laceration to the right side of his face," according to the blog. Officers found a blood trail stretching two blocks on Olympic from 7th Street to 5th Street.

"Surveillance video helped the officers identify a security guard at the location as the suspect," police said. The victim was transported to a local hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

The other assault took place on the 1400 block of Ocean Avenue where officers responded to a call reporting "a subject who struck a security guard in the face with a metal bollard."

The victim "sustained a laceration to his face," and the suspect was located and arrested.

In a separate incident, a DUI driver followed by an officer for speeding on the 2000 block of Montana "noticed the officer behind her, made a U-turn, and sideswiped the officer’s vehicle as she drove past him.

"The suspect then drove into the 800 block of 16th Street where she attempted to collide into the driver side of Officer Sandoval's vehicle, hitting a street tree.

"She fled on foot and was taken into custody within minutes by other responding officers," police said. She was arrested for assault, DUI and hit and run.