Police investigate Seaside man’s death following two altercations on the same day as homicide
MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) Monterey police said they are investigating the death of a Seaside man at the end of July as a homicide. This is the first homicide in Monterey in 2020.
The day of the homicide, police said the man, identified as 39-year-old Seaside resident Richard Thompson, was involved in two physical altercations in Monterey that happened seven hours apart.
The first incident happened at around 12:50 a.m. on July 27. Police responded to the 300 bock of Munras for a report of two men involved in a fight. When they got there, Thompson said he was battered by 21-year-old Monterey resident Raven Wade. During the fight, police said Wade threw a large recycling bin at Thompson, which hit him in the head. Thompson was treated at CHOMP for his injuries and released.
At around 7:45 a.m. the same day, Monterey officers responded to a report of a burglary in progress in the 100 block of Park Street. The victim of the burglary said he found Thompson in his business wearing a ski mask and looking through items. When the victim confronted Thompson, he said Thompson tried to batter him. Police said the victim punched Thompson several times, and he fell to the ground unconscious.
The victim called 911 and Thompson was taken to Natividad, but he never regained consciousness. He died on Aug. 10, and the coroner said the cause of death was a brain injury.
Police said what is difficult about this case is determining if the brain injury was caused by the recycling bin or punching. The Monterey County District Attorney's Office is waiting for more evidence before filing a homicide charge against either person involved.
On July 28, the day after both incidents, Wade was found in the area of Tyler and Munras at around 11 a.m. and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. He has not been charged with homicide and has since been released from jail.
Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Kimberly Zook at 831-646-3810.
