One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Man Arrested For Beating, Attempted Sexual Assault Of 80-Year-Old Woman In Hollywood
The attempted assault took place in Hollywood's infamous Knickerbocker, now a retirement community. (Photo by howard-f via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
A man who allegedly beat and attempted to sexually assault an 80-year-old woman in her Hollywood apartment last month has been arrested, police say.City News Service reports that on June 18, Marcus Datwione Peete, 33, entered the woman's apartment in a retirement complex near Hollywood Boulevard and Ivar Avenue, took an elevator to an upper floor, knocked on her door, and shoved her to the ground. He attempted to sexually assault her, brutally beat her up, and fled.
As ABC-7 reported at the time, that Peete was able to get access into the building—the historic Old Knickerbocker Hollywood Hotel, which has been converted into a retirement home—by using the call box to dial multiple apartments, until someone buzzed him in.
"She fought back, and after fighting back, she beat back the suspect as much as possible and then he became very, very aggressive and significantly beat her up," Deputy Chief Matt Blake told ABC. She was left bloodied, and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
KTLA notes that the attack appeared to be random.
Peete was shown entering the building and elevator on surveillance footage:
Now known as "The Knickerbocker Apartments," the 1925 once-luxury building is apparently haunted: Knickerbocker resident D.W. Griffith died of a stroke in the lobby in 1948, and Harry Houdini's wife Bess held a (unsuccessful) Halloween séance on the roof of the Knickerbocker in 1936.
Sponsored message
Today, neighbors and residents say most of the people who live in the Knickerbocker are native Russian speakers.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
