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Nightclub brawl leads to arrest

One person was arrested following a bar fight in a Castro Street nightclub early Saturday morning which supposedly started after a man was hit on the head with a beer bottle, police say.

According to police, the owner of Monte Carlo nightclub, located at 228 Castro Street, flagged down a patrol officer just after 2 a.m. on Saturday, April 3. The owner said a fight had broken out in the bar, and Monte Carlo security personnel had detained several people behind the club who they thought were involved.

One 23-year-old man from San Jose reported that he was minding his own business when out of nowhere he was hit in the head with a beer bottle, said police spokesperson Liz Wylie. After the initial blow, the victim fought back, and several others joined in the brawl.

Wylie said police took other witness accounts, but the stories varied and they do not know how many people were involved or exactly why the fight started.

After talking to witnesses, police arrested Juan Rico, 28, of Oakland, for allegedly hitting the victim with a bottle. Wylie said Rico had scratches on his hand indicating that the bottle likely broke on impact, though she added that there were many broken bottles at the scene.

The victim suffered several lacerations to the left side of his face and head. He was transported to a nearby hospital and given stitches before being released.

— Kelsey Mesher

Homeless man knocked out, robbed at San Antonio

Mountain View police say they have a man in custody who punched out an elderly homeless man before taking his wallet last Wednesday night near the CVS store at San Antonio shopping center.

Police allege that Menlo Park transient David Harris, 32, punched a 74-year-old Mountain View transient in the back of the head before taking his wallet at 10:30 p.m. on March 31. Witnesses reported that the suspect continued to punch the victim as he lay on the ground before taking his wallet.

"They don't know each other at all," said police spokesperson Liz Wylie. "This was a random act."

Police say they used witness descriptions of the suspect to find Harris walking in San Antonio Center with blood on him and carrying bloody money. Harris is a transient from the Menlo Park area, Wylie said, and the victim had been staying in the nearby San Antonio Inn.

Paramedics found the victim conscious at the CVS store; he was transported to the local hospital and is expected to recover from his injuries. Police say he could not recall the incident.

Harris was booked into the Santa Clara County main jail on robbery charges. Wylie said police were still talking to the district attorney's office about the possibility of additional charges.

— Daniel DeBolt