Police in Santa Cruz on Sunday confirmed the weekend arrest of a couple suspected of a hate crime after assaulting a male couple and using a homophobic slur after a dog fight Saturday.
Late Saturday morning at around 11:30 a.m., Santa Cruz police dispatch received a report of an assault on the 100 block of Blackburn Street. Responding officers located two subjects, one who had sustained minor injuries from the assault. The two suspects, a man and a woman, fled the scene on foot after the assault.A preliminary investigation revealed the two victims — a male couple — were walking their dog on Blackburn Street when they passed another couple walking their dog.
Police said the male suspect called the pair homophobic epithets and assaulted one of the male victims. The woman aided in the assault before both suspects ran from the scene.Police found surveillance video in the area that showed the suspects fleeing into an area apartment complex. Officers located the apartment and identified both the male and female suspects. The man and woman were later located and detained, with police positively identifying them as the suspects in the assault.
The male suspect was identified as 28-year-old Santa Cruz resident Richard Wood, while the female suspect was identified as Victoria Van Sandt. Both were arrested and booked into the county jail on charges of assault, conspiracy, and violation of one’s civil rights, a hate crime.
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