by Garth Meyer
A man who said he and his girlfriend were assaulted by teenage e-bikers in front of Captain Kidd’s on Harbor Drive after the couple left BeachLife Festival May 3 has been charged with assaulting the e-bikers.
The man was initially charged with public intoxication, on the night of the incident.
An arraignment in the case is set for August 12, at which time judicial diversion is being sought, according to Redondo Beach City Prosecutor Melanie Chavira. (Easy Reader is not printing the man’s name because of his concern about retribution by the e-bikers).
A plea has not been entered, Chavira said.
“Our discussions with the court and the government continue,” said Michael Norris, attorney for the alleged offender. “We look forward to resolving this matter amicably for everyone involved.”
In the days after the incident, the accused man told his side of the story to the media, including Easy Reader. He said he and his girlfriend were walking home from BeachLife when she was pushed to the ground by an e-biker, and that he was then assaulted by several of the e-bikers.
“The video evidence is very different from the (news story accounts),” Prosecutor Chavira said. “It’s very clear (the man) was the instigator and the aggressor.”
The initial contact between the woman and the e-bikers is also in question.
“She was swinging her purse (at) any e-biker near her,” Chavira said a cell phone video shows.
The woman said she began swinging her purse at the riders after one of them knocked her down, and the e-bikers then began “swarming” around her.
“The (accused) individual made a decision to reach out to the media and share his own side of the story,” Redondo Beach Police Chief Joe Hoffman told Easy Reader in an interview. “The job of the police department is to analyze as many different angles as possible. We’ve conducted a thorough investigation, which included video of the incident, and what led up to the altercation.”
The man was not given a breathalyzer test. The charge of public intoxication was based on the citing officer’s observations, the chief said.
A copy of the arrest report is not publicly available, the RBPD Records Division told Easy Reader last week “due to it being an open investigation.” ER
