Homeless Man Uses Golf Club In Violent Assault
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) – Police in Santa Rosa arrested an apparently homeless man after he beat another man with a golf club late Monday morning, authorities said.
At around 11:30 a.m., Santa Rosa Police Department received a report that a man armed with a golf club was violently beating another man in the 700 block of Bennett Valley Road.
When officers arrived to the scene, they found the victim--a 53-year old Santa Rosa man--lying in the street. Both the victim and several witnesses stated that the assault began after an argument between the victim and the suspect.
After the attack, the suspect fled westbound on a bicycle. The victim was treated on the scene by medical personnel and was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for bruises and lacerations on his right arm and right leg. He also suffered a broken right leg.
The weapon used was an iron golf club. Officers recovered the club with its head broken away from the shaft after the attack. According to witnesses, the suspect had thrown the club after the incident, explaining why the club's head and shaft were located separately.
Officers scanned the surrounding area and shortly found the suspect at a bar on Barham Ave.
The suspect, Scott Cooper, is a 56-year-old homeless man from Santa Rosa. Some residents of the area recognized him and said that he had been confrontational in the past.
Cooper was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and booked at the Sonoma County Jail.
