Transient man who allegedly sucker punched a woman in Santa Cruz appears in court

A man who allegedly punched a woman in downtown Santa Cruz appeared in court Wednesday.

According to police surveillance captured video of 38-year-old transient, Justin Schreiber, who walked up to a woman from behind and punched her in the face.

Wednesday, Schreiber remained in custody during his court hearing. Schreiber was picked up by Santa Cruz Police for what officers call an unproked attack caught on camera.

For local downtown businesses, crime on their street seems to be almost a daily occurrence.

“Stuff like people stealing, some kind of assault, and stuff like that is more common,” Old School Shoes employee Sebastian Galbreath said.

Galbreath said most of it seems to be caused by homeless in the area.

Just this week, another transient was arrested in Santa Cruz for allegedly assaulting a woman. Police identified the man as 42-year-old Jason Sparks, who police say has been arrested 17 times since 2014.

In an eerily similar attack, police say Sparks punched a woman in the face and tried to take her purse. This too was a misdemeanor.

Sparks has been in and out of custody for similar misdemeanor crimes like drugs, battery and indecent exposure. Stuff that is seen a lot on the area.

“A lot of people on drugs acting wild really crazy,” Crossroads employee sierra Hargrave said.

At least one local says she’s never felt threatened by those living on the street.

“I think mostly my fear would just be from any person on the street in
general,” Santa Cruz resident Erin said. “I always carry mace with me because I walk alone all the time.”

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s said, because of the passage of Prop 47 in California in 2014, non-violent crimes like shoplifting and illegal drug use are now classified as misdemeanors. That means the crook can be back on the street likely without jail time.