Another Assault on Cow's End Owner Clabe Hartley

VENICE RESTAURATEUR ASSAULTED A SECOND TIME 

BY ANOTHER CRAZED TRANSIENT

Clabe Hartley, a Venice restaurateur who had part of his finger bitten off in an assault by a transient earlier this spring, was again assaulted by another crazed transient at his restaurant on the morning of Wednesday, August 26^th.  The assault with a chair left Mr. Hartley with a severe concussion and five staples in his head.

Hartley said that he had seen the 250 lb. homeless man in the vicinity of his restaurant, The Cow’s End, on Washington Boulevard for several months, frequently talking excitedly to himself, saying “I need to kill someone today” or “I am going to kill her.”

He also would go down Washington Boulevard and dump the contents of all the trash cans into the gutter.

Mr. Hartley relates that last Wednesday, as the transient was again dumping the trash can in front of his restaurant, Hartley approached him and politely asked him if he was looking for something.  The fellow turned on Hartley and said, “You are killing people and I have to kill you.”  Hartley asked the transient how he was killing people and the big fellow replied that the food Hartley was serving was giving people cancer and came right up to Hartley and said he was going to kill him.  Hartley pulled out his pepper spray and sprayed the man, which had no effect on him.  The transient said, “That’s all you’ve got,” and came after Hartley.  At that point Hartley kicked him and ran into the front of the restaurant.  It appeared that the transient was walking away.

As Hartley turned to talk to this wife on the other side of the counter, the man picked up a wooden chair from the patio in the front of the cafe and hurled it at Hartley, hitting him in the head, and then the man rushed at Hartley.  At that point Hartley, staggered by the blow to the head, turned to face the man and watched as police officers, who had witnessed the entire incident from their passing car, tackled and arrested the transient.

Hartley reports that the man is now being held in the mental ward of County Jail on three counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

Another person was injured in the forehead by the leg of the chair, which broke off when it hit Hartley and flew into the patron’s face.  He was treated on the scene by paramedics and released.

Hartley is being treated by a specialist due to his propensity to pass out unexpectedly and is spending much of his time resting.