November 19, 2024 -- A security guard has been charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of a homeless man near Reed Park in early September, police said on Tuesday.
Sebastian Emil Gaston, 36, of Los Angeles, has admitted to the murder, and Santa Monica police detectives presented enough evidence for the LA District Attorney's Office to file the charge, police said.
The fatal stabbing was one of five homicides committed in Santa Monica this year, up from three in 2022 and one last year.
The incident took place on September 6 in the 1100 Block of Alley 6, where officers responding to a call at around 6:30 a.m. "discovered a deceased male in his 30s with one stab wound to the upper chest area," police said.
Two detectives were designated as the handling investigators and several others from the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) responded to assist at the scene, said Lt. Erika Aklufi, the Police Department spokesperson.
The coroner completed their investigation at the scene at about 1 p.m. and took custody of the victim, and the CID team gathered evidence, video footage and witness statements throughout the day, Aklufi said.
"After an extensive and thorough investigation, detectives determined the suspect to be a security guard who worked in a building adjacent to the incident," she said.
Detectives presented the case to an LA County Deputy District Attorney "who believed there was enough evidence to file the murder charge."
An arrest warrant was issued for Gaston, who was taken into custody on November 7 at the Santa Monica police station.
"During his interrogation, Gaston admitted to the murder as well as a previous assault in July," Aklufi said.
In both cases the victims were homeless, and Gaston was working as a security guard for the same building during both attacks, Aklufi said.
He remains in the custody of the LA County Sheriff’s Department pending trial.
Five other homicides have taken place in Santa Monica this year.
On January 25 Kayla Delise Mackie, 27, was arrested for the fatal shooting of a 46-year-old Los Angeles resident found wounded in his parked car on the 2600 block of 29th Street in Sunset park ("Suspect Arrested, Victim Identified in Sunset Park Homicide," January 26, 2024).
On June 11, the manager of Jameson's Pub on Main Street was killed during a fistfight that broke out after he asked several patrons to leave ("Patron Kills Main Street Pub Manager," June 13, 2024).
On October 14, Santa Monica College (SMC) employee Felicia Hudson, 54, was shot by a co-worker at the School's Center for Media & Design ("SMC Employee Shot Dies from Injuries," October 16, 2024).
And on November 16, Vernon Jeremiah Harris, 43, who may have developmental disabilities, fatally stabbed his elderly mother in an apartment in the Wilmont neighborhood ("Man Arrested for Fatal Stabbing of Elderly Mother," November 16, 2024).
Anyone with information about Gaston or the incident should email Detective Kayondo at lawrence.kayondo@santamonica.gov or Sergeant Lozano at alfonso.lozano@santamonica.gov, or call the Watch Commander 24 hours a day at 310-458-8427.