A homeless man has been arrested for throwing a 4ft metal pole into oncoming traffic on the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) according to the Santa Monica Police Department.
Officers arrested Carlos Hernandez-Martinez, a 29 year-old male experiencing homelessness, who was observed by a passerby holding the metal pole while standing on top of the pedestrian bridge that crosses over PCH from Palisades Park. As officers approached, he threw the pole over the side of the bridge directly onto vehicles traveling at over 40 mph.
Although Hernandez-Martinez initially complied with officers’ orders to climb off the top of the bridge, he grabbed another stick and a frying pan from a pile of his belongings and attempted to flee. He was quickly subdued and placed in handcuffs.
Detectives presented the case to the LA County District Attorney’s Office, and Hernandez-Martinez was charged with throwing an object at a vehicle with intent to cause great bodily injury, a felony, along with multiple counts of resisting arrest.
No information relating to injuries to drivers or damage to vehicles has been made available at this time.
Anyone with information related to this individual or incident is encouraged to contact
Detective McCoy, Detective Sergeant Goodwin or the Watch Commander at 310-458-8427 (24 hours).
scott.snowden@smdp.com