Woman at Murrieta bar allegedly assaulted, knocked unconscious by security guard

MURRIETA, Calif. - An off-duty security guard has been fired after he was caught on surveillance video punching a woman and knocking her unconscious outside a bar in Murrieta.

The incident happened at The Cove Bar and Grill on June 25 just after 2 a.m.

According to police, the security guard - identified as 24-year-old Kingtupu Logotala of Hemet - was interviewed and ultimately arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and battery causing serious injury. He has since been released on $25,000 bail.

Based on witness statements and video provided by The Cove Bar and Grill, it appeared a verbal altercation took place before the physical altercation.

The Cove Bar and Grill has since issued the following statement in response, saying in part that Logotala "was not acting on behalf of The Cove or as a security guard at the time of the assault."

The Cove is deeply saddened about the events that occurred last week. After closing, one of our customers was assaulted by a man in the parking lot in front of The Cove. The man was not an employee of The Cove. Rather, he worked for a private company that The Cove hired solely to provide security services. The man was not acting on behalf of The Cove or as a security guard at the time of the assault and was off-duty. The Cove has been cooperating with the Murrieta Police Department and their investigation into this incident. The man seen on the tape committing the assault has been arrested and has been banned from the premises. We are also re-evaluating our security contracts to ensure that any company providing security for The Cove has properly licensed and background checked employees working for them. We want to ensure that an incident like this can never happen again and that The Cove remains a safe place for our guests, even after we have closed. Our hearts go out to the person of this assault and we wish her a quick recovery."

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to please contact Detective Ryan Hollenweger at (951) 461-6361 or Sergeant Miguel Garcia at (951) 461-6362.