Preston Rochon, 30, arrested, charged with car theft and attempted murder in Santa Monica – CBS Los Angeles

SANTA MONICA (CBSLA) – On Friday, July 2, a man and a woman were victims of car theft and attempted murder in an incident that began at Parking Lot 8 in downtown Santa Monica.

At around 1:20 a.m., the Santa Monica Public Safety Dispatch Center received calls about a traffic collision at the entrance to the Santa Monica Pier. When the officers arrived at the scene, a witness gave information about the driver who got off the vehicle and left Ocean Avenue.

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Officials also learned that the same vehicle was suspected in a hit and run accident on block 100 of Colorado Boulevard before it hit the barricade on the pier, and that the vehicle had been hijacked with a car in a downtown parking garage.

According to SMPD Lt. Rudy Florez approached 30-year-old Preston B. Rochon, originally from Texas, a man and woman in the downtown parking garage, tried to attack the woman, and made allusions to a sexual assault that caused the male victim to encroach .

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There was a physical altercation and Rochon is said to have taken the man’s vehicle with him. When the man tried to track his vehicle, Rochon is suspected of knocking over and running over the male victim before crashing into the barricade on the pier.

The male victim was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries but was in stable condition at the time of his release. The female victim was later treated with minor injuries at a local hospital.

Police located Rochon near the crash site. The 30-year-old was arrested and charged with attempted manslaughter, assault with a lethal weapon, car theft and assault for sexual acts.

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Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Detective Burciga with the Criminal Investigations Division at 310-458-8932 or the Santa Monica Department Guard Commanders (24 hours a day) at 310-458-8437.