Santa Monica beach stabbing happened after vendor sexually battered women, police say

A fight at Santa Monica Beach that left one person stabbed has led to criminal charges being filed against four people, according to police, who now say it all started when a vendor allegedly sexually battered several women.

The June 29 brawl on the sand initially led to five people being arrested and two people injured and taken to a nearby hospital, one of them with a stabbing wound and another with a possibly broken ankle, authorities said. Officers responded to multiple reports about the fight near Lifeguard Tower 14, just north of the pier, at 2:21 p.m., according to the Santa Monica Police Department. 

Nearly a week later, the department announced charges were filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office against four men — one of them a 30-year-old vendor who police say allegedly approached some beachgoers and sexually battered several women within the group. According to police, some of the beachgoers then confronted Efigenio Tacuba and a fight broke out.

Tacuba then allegedly asked other vendors to help him, and police say several other vendors allegedly armed themselves with umbrella poles, belts and at least one knife. 

He is facing three counts of sexual battery and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, according to Santa Monica police.

The other three men charged are each facing two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, police say. The suspects include Jorge Luis Cruz Murcia, 29; Samuel Manzanarez Hernandez, 39; and Oscar Samuel Hernandez, 47. 

Santa Monica Mayor Phil Brock said the stabbing was the second one that day in the city and the area has been struggling with a recent spate of violent crime. "I've got a crisis," he said.

Just days before, a man at Santa Monica Beach tried drowning an elderly woman and assaulted two others. In the weeks before, several other violent crimes were reported in the city including a bartender who died after police say a patron punched him and a man who stabbed two people near the Third Street Promenade in what authorities have described as an unprovoked attack.

Brock has said that he's asked city council to put up to $3 million towards emergency security through the summer.

Police say there's more arrests likely to come in the June 29 incident. Investigators are still working to piece together exactly what happened and police have asked anyone with information — particularly anyone with cellphone video — to reach out.

Those with tips are urged to reach Detective Holloway at Jacob.Holloway@santamonica.gov or the department's 24-hour line at 310-458-8427. Anonymous tips can be forwarded to LA County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.