Crime & Safety
Suspect Arrested in Grocery Store Sexual Battery Case
The man is accused of sexually battering a woman at the Pavillions market on Olympic Boulevard last January.
A 44-year-old man was arrested in connection with a sexual battery in a Beverly Hills grocery store, police announced Friday.
Ernesto Salinas of Los Angeles was arrested Wednesday and booked for sexual battery and burglary after stories on newscasts resulted in tips from the public, said Beverly Hills Lt. Lincoln Hoshino.
- Related: Beverly Hills Police Seek Public Help in Identifying Sexual Battery Suspect
The crime in the Pavillions market in the 9400 block of Olympic Boulevard, near Beverly Drive, occurred in late January, but the video and still images that were released last week needed to be enhanced to make the suspect identifiable, Hoshino said.
Find out what's happening in Beverly Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"The suspect engaged the victim in conversation and used a ruse to bait the victim into assisting him in removing an item from a high shelf," Hoshino said. "As the victim reached up to retrieve the item, the suspect sexually battered her."
Salinas was being held in lieu of $200,000 bail.
