SANTA MONICA — On March 6 at approximately 8:10 p.m, in the Santa Monica Pier deck parking lot, a suspect approached a parked vehicle in the Santa Monica Pier deck parking lot and threatened the driver. The driver was inside the vehicle with his sister and brother.
The suspect later pulled out a dark object, which appeared to be a gun or a knife to the driver. Fearing that the suspect might use the object to harm him and his siblings, the driver got out of the vehicle. The suspect then punched the driver in the face several times.
The driver’s sister escaped the vehicle and alerted a police officer. The suspect was arrested and taken into custody. It was later discovered that the suspect was unarmed. The perpetrator has been identified as Carlos Rodriguez, 42, of Huntington Park. He was already on probation for previous assaults and was refused bail.
