Two e-biking teens charged in violent assault on Hermosa Beach man

Charges have been filed against two teens who were arrested after surveillance cameras recorded a group of boys on e-bikes attacking a man near the Hermosa Beach Pier until he was knocked unconscious, police said.

Hermosa Beach Police Chief Landon Phillips announced that the L.A. County district attorney had filed charges during a presentation at Tuesday night’s Hermosa Beach City Council meeting. He said he could not provide details on the charges as the suspects are juveniles.

The two teens were arrested on suspicion of felony assault on Nov. 26 and spent Thanksgiving inside Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall, he said. They are accused of being the primary assailants in the Nov. 21 attack on a 57-year-old resident in an alleyway near the pier.

The Police Department has identified five boys from 13 to 15 years old who were involved in the incident, which remains under investigation, Phillips said.

Once all interviews are completed, the department will present the case to the district attorney’s office to determine whether additional criminal charges should be filed against anyone else, he said.

An e-bike rider navigates Pier Plaza near the Strand in Hermosa Beach on Friday near the site of the Nov. 21 attack.

(Gary Coronado / For The Times)

Students at Manhattan Beach Middle School were involved in the incident, the school’s principal, Matthew Horvath, confirmed.

The victim, who was transported to a hospital for treatment, is continuing to recover from his injuries, Phillips said.

“We want to thank our residents and our businesses for helping to provide the video, which was instrumental in getting as much information on this case as we could,” Phillips said. “We also want to thank the school officials that have assisted in identifying the juveniles.”

The surveillance camera recording of the attack sent shock waves through the affluent and tight-knit coastal community, with many residents demanding consequences for the teens’ behavior. The video shows the teens shoving the man to the ground and repeatedly punching him and kicking him in the head.

“One thing we want our community to know is that our detectives made this a top priority,” Phillips said. “Our detectives had other operations planned; all of that was canceled so we could focus all of our time on this investigation, and it yielded some positive results.”

The attack ignited simmering community tensions over bad behavior — such as vandalism, harassment and speeding — linked to teenagers on e-bikes. The city of Hermosa Beach enacted an emergency ordinance in June 2024 that set new rules for juvenile e-bikers and gave police the authority to impound the bikes of unsafe riders.

Phillips said the department was increasing its presence and e-bike enforcement efforts in the downtown Hermosa and Strand areas in the aftermath of the assault.