SANTA MONICA—On Sunday, January 31, the Santa Monica Police Department responded to the intersection of 4th and Colorado Avenue regarding an “unknown trouble” call.
Upon arrival, officers discovered a male victim who was bleeding profusely from his face. The victim informed officers he had been punched several times in the face by an unknown individual and strangled to the point that he lost consciousness.
Officers located the subject a short distance away, who has been identified as Bobby Gerald Edwards, 32, from Los Angeles. Edwards made spontaneous statements tying him to the incident. The victim also identified Edwards as the suspect who assaulted him and believed the attack was unprovoked.
The victim informed officers that he was assaulted when he attempted to engage Edwards who was yelling and appeared to be emotionally distressed. During the assault, Edwards attempted to strangulate the victim and yelled, “I am going to kill you!” The victim was able to yell for help, which caused the suspect to stop, grab the victim’s phone and throw it, preventing the victim from calling 9-1-1.
The victim was treated at the scene and transported to a local hospital by paramedics from the Santa Monica Fire Department. Edwards was taken into custody and booked for attempted murder and preventing the use of a device to summon for help.
Anyone with any information related to this incident can contact Criminal Investigations Division Detective D. Larios at (310) 458-8937 or Police Dispatch at 310-458-8491.
