On January 25 at approximately 10:45 a.m.
A woman was walking down the Montana stairs and saw the suspect standing on the landing at the mouth of the bridge that spans PCH. When the suspect saw the woman, he dropped his pants and began fondling himself. The woman told the suspect to stop and said she was going to call the police, then took out her phone and started taking photos of him. The suspect quickly covered himself up and tried to cover his face with an orange hat he was wearing, but also lunged forward and swung at the victim, in what she believed was an attempt to knock the phone out of her hand. The suspect then ran away.
Santa Monica police officers responded to the 800 block of Palisades Park a short time later, but learned the woman left the area to go back home. The woman pointed out the suspect to a landscaper working in the park however, before she left. The landscaper in turn pointed out the suspect to the officers, who then detained him as he was walking southbound in the park. The suspect admitted he had some sort of confrontation with a woman earlier in the morning, but said he was only scratching his stomach under his shirt.
The officers then contacted the woman and drove her to the park to look at the man they had detained. The woman confirmed the man they stopped was the same person she saw on the Montana stairs. The suspect was taken into custody and booked at the Santa Monica jail. Brandon Jamel Griffin, 22, of Los Angeles was charged with public exposure and assault. Bail was set at $500.
Crime Watch is 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.
