UPDATE (Saturday, April 15): Arrest made in case of man accused of punching woman in Riverside garage
Police say the woman who was punched in the face after she refused a man’s sexual advances on March 12 in Riverside suffered a significant injury to her eye, the effects of which have lasted nearly a month.
Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback said the woman was walking back to her car from the bars on Mission Inn Avenue in downtown Riverside on March 12 with at least one other friend when the suspect and another man began following them and the suspect began making sexual advances.
The group made it to the parking garage at 3473 Orange Street and the woman took her phone out, Railsback said, possibly to discourage the man’s behavior.
The victim turned around and someone yelled to her to watch out, which is when he punched her in the face.
Railsback said the orbital socket of her left eye was broken from the punch and she developed an eye infection. Almost a month later, Railsback said, the victim says she still has some numbness.
That type of incident amounts to felony battery, he said.
Investigators aren’t sure what the suspect’s friend was doing while the suspect was making the advances. He said the two left the area together.
The information wasn’t released until nearly a month after the incident because investigators were working to identify the suspect, Railsback said.
Police describe the man as a 5-foot-7, 21-year-old Hispanic male weighing 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a red and gray flannel shirt over a white t-shirt, a black hat and dark jeans.
The Riverside Police Department asks that anyone who recognizes him or has information regarding the incident contact Detective David Smith at 951-353-7103 or davidsmith@riversideca.gov.
