An uptick in crime in this California city is leaving residents on high alert

Homeless man arrested for Santa Monica attacks

Jawann Garnett was arrested for allegedly attacking three people in Santa Monica Monday, including allegedly trying to drown one in the ocean. One victim told FOX 11 that Garnett strangled her and tried to bite her ear.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Residents in Santa Monica are on high alert amid an uptick in crimes, some of which involve violent assaults allegedly committed by homeless people or repeat offenders out on probation.

Over the weekend, five people were arrested after a large brawl broke out near the Santa Monica Pier. That fight led to a stabbing on the beach, according to police. Two people were hospitalized - one with a stab injury and another with a possible broken ankle.

Last week, police arrested 31-year-old Jawann Garnett after he allegedly assaulted three women on the same beach. That incident happened June 25 in the 1300 block of Ocean Front Walk. Garnett, a registered sex offender who is also homeless, allegedly dragged one of the victims underwater by her hair and assaulted the two others.

A 17-year-old was taken to the hospital for treatment of serious but not life-threatening injuries, while two others - an elderly woman and a bystander who tried to intervene - were treated at the scene.

"He had no humanity in his eyes whatsoever," Jenna Wilker, the bystander who tried to help the other woman, told FOX 11's Matthew Seedorff on the day of the attack. "Then, he turned his focus towards me, strangling me and trying to bite my ear off. He ended up getting off me and attacking the third victim, trying to drown her in the ocean."

The spate of crimes doesn't end there.

On May 23, a 73-year-old woman was assaulted by a homeless man near the 1600 block of Ocean Front Walk. The woman said she was on her daily morning walk and tried to get out of his way so he could pass, but "he intentionally pushed her to the ground," resulting in a back injury and cuts on her hands, police said.

"He just knocked an old lady down," said Ryan Springer, who works at a business near the pier and jumped into action when he saw what was taking place. "In my head, I’m like ‘That could be a grandmother.’"

But minutes later, police said they received more calls reporting the same homeless man, later identified as 39-year-old Jalan James, was trying to punch people up the street. He was eventually taken into custody.

Just four days earlier, on May 19, two people were stabbed in unprovoked attacks near the popular Santa Monica Promenade. According to police, the two tourists were stabbed in one of the downtown parking lots around 8 p.m. The suspect, 29-year-old Larry Cedeno, was arrested. He was out on probation for larceny, police said. There was also a third person who was stabbed by an unknown suspect, who was not Cedeno, police said.

Less than a week beforehand, a homeless man was arrested for the attempted rape of a female jogger in the 2000 block of Ocean Front Walk. An investigation revealed the May 13 incident occurred as the woman was jogging southbound on the beach path when the suspect, Malcolm Jimmy Ward Jr., allegedly grabbed her by the hair from behind, knocking her to the ground. She was dragged several feet to the bathrooms before witnesses were able to intervene. Ward was out on parole for assault with a deadly weapon, according to police.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park spoke out about how "unsafe" Los Angeles was becoming. The comments came after two women were brutally assaulted near the Venice Canals in April. One of those women, Sarah Alden, was taken off life support about a month after slipping into a coma as a result of the attack.

"People in the city of Los Angeles are sick and tired of feeling unsafe," Park said. "No woman, no visitor, no family should be unsafe walking in any neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles."

She said there are "unstable and potentially dangerous" people roaming the streets, and said Los Angeles "is getting a bad reputation."

FOX 11 has reached out to the Santa Monica Police Department for comment but has not yet heard back.

Santa Monica Crime and Public Safety