Homeless man arrested for strangling fisherman at Santa Monica Beach
A homeless man was arrested for allegedly strangling a man who was fishing at Santa Monica Beach last Thursday.
The suspect was identified as John Broeksmit, 31, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.
On Sept. 19, the victim, identified only as a 28-year-old West Hollywood man, was fishing at the waterline when he was suddenly attacked from behind.
Broeksmit allegedly strangled the man, leaving him with injuries to the neck, police said. He was transported to the hospital for treatment.
“The suspect came up behind him and, with absolutely no provocation, put him in a chokehold from behind,” said Erika Aklufi with Santa Monica police. “As far as we know, the only reason why the suspect let him go was because some witnesses intervened.”
Broeksmit fled the scene before officers arrived. Police canvassed the beach where he was located and taken into custody.
Authorities said the suspect is currently homeless and is originally from Illinois.
In 2024, he had multiple arrests in California for public intoxication, possession of a weapon on school grounds, and tampering with a fire alarm.
On Sept. 15, four days before the attack, he was arrested for alleged burglary and public intoxication.
“You have to remember that we are dealing, still, with zero bail,” Aklufi explained of L.A. County’s zero-bail policy. “He was released with a citation per the bail schedule and was back out and came up to Santa Monica.”
“It’s crazy,” said Lindsay Ronald, a Santa Monica resident. “I’ve been coming here for 17 years and to hear it [happened] recently makes me not want to live really close by here, to be honest.”
On Sept. 23, Broeksmit was charged with one count of attempted murder by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
He remains in the custody of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and is being held on $2 million bail.
“We’re making sure that our police are doing everything within the law to help solve the problems on our streets,” said Santa Monica mayor Phil Brock. “I need county, state and federal help. It’s absolutely imperative. We cannot solve the homeless crisis in our city or our county by ourselves.”
The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Detective Zamfirov at peter.zamfirov@santamonica.gov or the Watch Commander’s desk at 310-458-8427.
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