In yet another public display of violence, two men were injured in downtown San Luis Obispo after allegedly being beaten with a metal pipe.
SLO police officers arrested Robert Lee Price, 45, a reported transient, on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
Police responded to the 700 block of Marsh Street around 9 p.m. on Dec. 28 after witnesses reported a man beating two others with a pipe. When police arrived at the scene, witnesses directed officers to a home on the 1300 block of Broad Street where Price was found hiding in the back yard.
Donald Regan, 46, was taken to the hospital and treated for a contusion and a “significant” laceration to the top of the head, according to police reports. Paul Bramon, 30, received an injury to his right elbow while reportedly attempting to catch Price but later declined medical treatment. The motive for the attack remains unclear.
Price was booked into county jail, and as of this printing, remains there on $25,000 bond. Police said he’s currently suspected in a number of other assaults, and the investigation is ongoing.
The alleged assault would be the second in the city in as many weeks. SLO has witnessed a recent surge in violent crime, and some residents are pointing fingers at new faces in the local homeless community, though there’s little evidence the problem is largely a transient one.
This article appears in Dec 31, 2009 – Jan 7, 2010.
