Long Beach resident accused of choking, robbing barber in Banning
A convicted felon from Long Beach is suspected of attacking and trying to manually strangle a barber in Banning during a robbery at the victim's shop.
The suspect was arrested on Thursday night and booked into the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside on suspicion of attempted murder and robbery, according to Riverside County sheriff's officials. The suspect remains in custody in lieu of $1 million bail.
About 5:50 p.m. Thursday, the suspect walked into a barber shop in the 2500 block of West Ramsey Street and approached the lone stylist, allegedly turning hostile for reasons unexplained.
"The suspect attacked the victim, and a physical altercation ensued," according to a sheriff's statement.
During the altercation, the suspect began choking the victim causing the victim to lose consciousness. A bystander who witnessed the attack intervened, pulling the suspect off of the barber, prompting the assailant to hit the man before grabbing several items in the shop and fleeing on foot along Ramsey Street, sheriff's investigators allege.
The victim, who regained consciousness moments later, was checked by paramedics but was not hospitalized. The victim's name was not released.
Sheriff's anti-gang task force deputies who were in the area and heard the 911 call spotted the suspect in the 3200 block of West Ramsey, where they were taken into custody without incident with the help of Banning police officers, authorities said.
We are not identifying the suspect until they are officially charged by the District Attorney's Office. The suspect is scheduled to appear in court next week.
