Two women were arrested in the East Village this week, several days after a homeless man found with head trauma on a Gaslamp Quarter street died, San Diego police said.
The suspects were identified as Ashley Bonk, 28, of Chula Vista, who was arrested April 8 on suspicion of murder, and a 17-year-old girl arrested two days later on the same charge. Her name was not released because she is a minor, San Diego homicide Lt. Steve Shebloski said in a news release.
He identified the victim as Charles Hughes, 38, of San Diego.
The incident appears to have followed a brief argument early March 21. Shebloski said someone called 911 about 6:20 a.m. to report that a homeless man was being assaulted on Fourth Avenue, south of Broadway.
Police arrived to find the man unconscious, Shebloski said. Hughes was taken to a hospital, where he died more than a week later, on March 29, from head injuries suffered during the attack.
Homicide detectives took over the investigation that day and arrested the two suspects more than week later. A San Diego Community College police officer found Bonk in front of a business on Park Boulevard near 12th Avenue. The teen girl was found April 10 on C Street near 11th Avenue.
The suspects are also believed to be homeless, Shebloski said. He said investigators believe the encounter was random, and that the women did not know Hughes beforehand.
