Santa Monica bar manager killed after asking customers to leave, police say

A Santa Monica bar manager died after being punched by a patron he had asked to leave earlier in the night, police said Thursday. 

Leonard Hector Korpie, a 26-year-old resident of Venice, has been arrested as the suspected killer and charged with murder, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. 

He was expected to appear in court Thursday and is being held on $1 million bail.

The victim, a manager at Jameson's Pub, had asked several customers to leave the bar Monday night before a fight followed in the street outside, according to police. One of the patrons punched the bar manager and he lost consciousness, police said.

Officers responded to the 2700 block of Main Street, just outside the bar, around 12:05 a.m. When they arrived, they tried performing life-saving measures on the victim. But he was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Three people involved in the fight were arrested and investigators identified Korpie as the suspect, police said.

No other details have been released by police.