The man accused of attacking an Olympic medalist in Los Angeles was charged for the attack on Tuesday and is being held without bail, according to prosecutors.
The suspect, Semeon Tesfamariam, was previously convicted in 2020 for a serious and/or violent felony and was on parole at the time of the attack, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. He now faces one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon that includes allegations he caused great bodily injury to Olympic volleyball player Kim Glass, the office said in a statement.
“This was a brutal, unprovoked attack,” District Attorney George Gascon said. “Mr. Tesfamariam has a troubling history of attacking apparently random people with dangerous weapons. His behavior appears to have escalated with time.”
WATCH: LEBRON JAMES SUGGESTS CAPTIVE WNBA STAR RECONSIDER COMING BACK TO US
Tesfamariam, 52, faces 11 years in state prison if convicted. His arraignment hearing is set for Aug. 17.
Glass, a silver medalist at the 2008 Olympics, said in a video that her attacker “had something in his hand” when she was struck with what she described as a metal pipe that the attacker “literally flung … from the street.” The video showed the right side of her face completely swollen and a large gash on her nose.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Violent crime in Los Angeles has risen 8% in the last year, and total arrests have gone down by almost 12%, according to data from the Los Angeles Police Department. Gascon, a Democrat, has been criticized for his “soft on crime” stance, and more than 700,000 people have joined an effort to recall him from his position.
