Solomon, legendary Venice Beach boardwalk performer and resident has been cleared of all charges according to the office of the District Attorney. Solomon was arrested last April under suspicion of assaulting a man who was left in a coma in Hollywood. Several independent witnesses identified Solomon as the suspect, but since developments have resulted in the charges being dropped. The witnesses were reluctant to pursue the case. Solomon has always maintained his innocence, as he did the day of his arrest. He said he had not been in Hollywood for years.
As a note, the tinfoil hat crowd has tried to draw some speculation because I was there when Solomon was arrested. That day I was home, and as happens almost every day I heard a call on the scanner so I hopped on my bike and left to go to the scene. Beach units were asked to respond to the Santa Monica pier. There was heavy traffic and I made it there down the bike path before they did. When I got there I saw Solomon and we chatted it up for a bit. I had no idea even he was the person they were responding to. He left, and I just followed the officers who had had him in custody by the time I was able to show up to where they finally made the arrest. I have always been friends with Solomon, and I video taped his arrest FOR him, and called his attorney the next day. He was supposed to give a deposition against The City, and I called to make sure his attorney knew where he was. I listen to the scanner all day every day and respond to lots of arrests and other capers. Sometimes they are people I know, sometimes not. In this case, the preposterous accusation that I had some involvement with Solomon who is one of my favorite people on the boardwalk is a reflection of those making that connection: lunacy.
