Northern California mayor, city councilman attacked by homeless man
MARYSVILLE -- The mayor of the Northern California city of Marysville was sucker-punched in broad daylight by a homeless man this week downtown while surveying the site of a recently burned historic hotel.
On Thursday afternoon, Mayor Chris Branscum, Marysville City Councilman Dom Belza, and Chief of Police Christian Sachs, alongside two staff members of Congressman Doug LaMalfa, were in downtown Marysville to assess damage at Hotel Marysville.
A fire burned the historic hotel in June after a year of fines totaling more than $30K due to code violation notices, a spokesperson for the city confirmed to CBS13. The city has initiated legal action against the hotel's owners to either stabilize the building's top floor or demolish the building, which has been declared a public nuisance.
On the day of the assault, Marysville city leaders were there to show Congressman LaMalfa the site.
Belza said he saw the suspect, who is facing multiple felony charges, approaching the group. He said he was on high alert but did not expect the man to get physical.
"As he walked past the mayor, who had his back to him, he just reached back and slugged him in the back for no apparent reason," Belza said.
"All of a sudden, I thought I got hit by a car," Branscum said.
The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Derek Hopkins, ran off and Belza said that without thinking, he took off after him.
Followed closely by Sachs and Branscum, Belza said that once he got close enough to the suspect, Hopkins was able to turn around and hit him in the side of the head.
Belza said that even with the hit, he was able to get Hopkins subdued until Sachs caught up for the arrest.
"We were obviously there and capable to be able to restrain, but there's a lot of times that this happens where nobody's there," Belza said.
These Marysville leaders said the assault was a surprise but validated their support of Proposition 36. The ballot measure would mean increased punishment for people convicted of drug or theft crimes.
"If we had the right laws in place that would encourage people to go into rehab, get cleaned up. Otherwise, they experience severe consequences like real jail time, real prison time. I think we're gonna see more folks," Belza said.
Branscum said he has already inquired about what tools are available to the city after the landmark ruling by the Supreme Court that gave cities the ability to clear homeless encampments. He said that he wants to know what is available now because of the decision that was not available before.
"Every community needs to do this. This can't be tolerated," Branscum said.
Hopkins is facing eight charges that include felony assault of a public official and a felony elder abuse. His bail is set at $50,000 and he will be back in court next month.
