Assailant of Two Women Arrested
Santa Barbara – Yemane Abraham, 38, was arrested on charges of assault, battery, and attempted robbery pursuant to alleged street violence on a downtown Santa Barbara sidewalk perpetrated by him on the evening of July 10th.
According to Santa Barbara Police Department Public Information Officer Riley Harwood, in statements to the media today, a 911 Emergency call was received by SBPD operators reporting a battery upon a 33-year-old female who had noticed her assailant “staring at her and approaching from across the street” where she had just parked her car.
Yemane Abraham
While walking toward her residence, Abraham reportedly attempted to “pull forcefully on her purse,” Harwood reported, whereupon the victim summarily struck him in the face with her elbow while screaming for help. The would-be purse snatcher then hit his resistant victim on the head with a coffee cup before making his escape.
A trio of SBPD officers responded to the scene, and while interviewing the victim received another SBPD Dispatch call alerting them to another victim just blocks away reporting an attack by a man who had spit in her face and kicked her in the leg. This second victim, according to Harwood, reportedly used a high-heel shoe to fend off her attacker, throwing it at him. Apparently Abraham had learned something from his first victim, and he used his elbow to strike his second victim in the face as he himself had been hit just minutes earlier.
With identical descriptions of the assailant from the two victims, Officer Tyler Larson and his K-9 partner Hondo began a search of the area and located Abraham nearby.
A field identification provided by the victims positively identified Abraham, who was arrested and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of robbery and battery with his bail set at $50,000.
Photo: courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
Read more:
Santa Barbara Independent: Attempted Robbery and Assault Lead to Arrest
