Woman Fends Off Assailant in Elevator Attack

Police are searching for a man who assaulted a woman in an elevator at a downtown office building on Santa Monica Boulevard last week.

The attack occurred at 9 a.m. Wednesday. The assailant fled the building at 429 Santa Monica Blvd. after the woman fought back, according to Santa Monica Police Department spokesman Sgt. Richard Lewis.

Described as in his late 20s, between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall with tattoos on his arms, the man hopped aboard the elevator the victim was taking up from the building's underground parking garage.

When the doors closed, he immediately assaulted her, "making a statement which led the victim to believe she was going to be sexually assaulted," Lewis said.

The woman fought back, and when the elevator stopped a few floors up, the suspect ran off. A witness waiting for the elevator tried to follow the suspect, but lost him as he made his way onto Fifth Street and out of sight, Lewis said.

The suspect was also described as weighing 150 pounds with a light goatee, brown eyes and short/straight black hair.

Anyone with additional information was asked to contact detective DeRyck at (310) 458-8944, Sgt. Jacob at (310) 458-8460 or the Santa Monica Police Department's 24/7 line at (310) 458-8495.