Assailants of OB Man Still Not Caught After 10 Days

Still from surveillance camera shows Woody Boethel, in red jacket, being beaten by the two main assailants.

The small group of assailants of an OB man ten days ago all caught on surveillance video have still not been caught by police.

On Friday, Nov. 18, around 9:30 pm, Woody Boethel was jumped by about five people — all assumed to be houseless — out in front of Hodad’s. The assault was captured by a Hodads videocam and many viewers have since watched the brutal beating.

Apparently, Boethel had just come from The Joint up Newport Ave when he noticed a large group hanging out at the corner in front of the market. He went inside and complained to employees inside, and upon coming out, he was asked for money.

He refused and put a special twist on it that he wouldn’t especially give them money. This upset a handful hanging out, about 4 men and a women, and Boethel was jumped, kicked and beaten. A friend of Boethel’s tried to intervene and pull some of the assailants away.

After a few seconds, the fighting ended and Boethel gathered his things and walked away.

The assault had fractured a wrist and multiple kicks and punches had left him sore — and angry. He’s not angry with the police but with the politicians for allowing it to get like this, people like Mayor Gloria and Jen Campbell. He understood, Boethel said, that the police are understaffed and it’s not their fault.

And the beating has caused TV cameras to search the streets of OB to get residents and some businessowners to vent against the homeless. And it hasn’t been difficult. Many interviewed see the recent beating as just part of a pattern these days in OB and call for something to be done. Some even say that the homeless have caused Starbucks to close.

The San Diego Police Department released the following statement:

“We understand why this incident is distressing to our community. The video is difficult to watch. The San Diego Police Department will continue to quickly respond to calls for service and work proactively to keep our neighborhoods safe.

This is an active investigation. While the suspects in this attack currently remain at large, our detectives have identified persons of interest and are working to build a case against those involved.”

Although Boethel claims he is lucky to be alive and that people just walked by during by the assault, a view of the video shows the fight but he is clearly able to get up and walk away. No one is seen in the video simply walking by and doing nothing.

Boethel – and others briefly interviewed by TV – see this as a tipping point in the community’s patience in dealing with the aggressiveness and violence perpetrated by today’s homeless in OB.

However, young Mr. Hardin, Mike’s son, states that he has to deal with similar events in downtown San Diego where Hodad’s has another eatery. Chris Saltzman, Manager at OB Hodad’s, told the media that in terms of violence, “I would say there’s been a pickup since the pandemic has started.” And that, “the uptick in violence recently that I’ve noticed, I’m noticing almost once a week every other week there’s a fight breaking out in front of the restaurant or down the street.”

KUSI’s reporter Dan Plante indicated that not too long after the incident, he witnessed the same assailants still free walking about OB.

Police say they’re building a case “against those involved.” Yet the video clearly shows the 3 to 4 individuals involved and ten days later, they’re all presumably still walking around.