Editor's note: This report is part of Crime Watch, a weekly series culled from reports provided by the Santa Monica Police Department. These are arrests only. All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Crime Watch appears every Friday in the print edition of the Daily Press.
Sunday, Feb. 3, at 2:58 p.m.,
Officers responded to the 400 block of Hill Street regarding the report of a possible home-invasion robbery. When officers arrived they made contact with a man who said that his friend was inside the residence with a head injury. Officers cleared the place out and found the man, who had been struck in the head with a hammer several times. When trying to sort out what happened and get medical aid for the injured man, officers detained a third man who walked back into the residence. He told the cops that he lived at the home and was the one who defended himself against the wounded man, whom he said tried to steal some clothes. Officers determined that the two were involved in an argument and that the homeowner assaulted the victim with a hammer. He was transported to a hospital for treatment and the homeowner was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. He was identified as Basil Hennessy, 19, of Santa Monica. His bail was set at $30,000.
