Investigators Gathered Evidence, Interviewed Witnesses, and Reviewed Surveillance
A 36-year-old security guard has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of a man in an alley near the 1100 block of 6th Street on September 6, SMPD officials announced.
Santa Monica Police Department officers responded to a report of a person lying on the ground around 5:50 p.m. Upon arrival, they found a man in his 30s dead from a single stab wound to the chest. Investigators from the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) gathered evidence, interviewed witnesses, and reviewed surveillance footage from the area.
Detectives identified the suspect as Sebastian Emil Gaston, a security guard employed at a nearby building. The investigation revealed that Gaston was responsible for the stabbing and had also been involved in an unrelated assault in July.
After presenting their findings to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, an arrest warrant was issued for Gaston. He was taken into custody on November 7 at the Santa Monica police station, where he confessed to the murder and the previous assault.
Gaston remains in custody at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department awaiting trial.
Authorities are urging anyone with additional information about the incident to contact Detective Lawrence Kayondo at lawrence.kayondo@santamonica.gov, Sergeant Alfonso Lozano at alfonso.lozano@santamonica.gov, or the Santa Monica Police Department Watch Commander at (310) 458-8427.
