California

UCSB Student Accused in Half-Naked Assault on Pastor

The man, known as Pastor Jon in the community, heard a man yelling for help and banging on his door, deputies said.

A University of California, Santa Barbara student was behind bars Saturday after being accused of throwing his half-naked body on a pastor’s door in the middle of the night and then hitting the victim more than 30 times in the face in a random attack, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department said.

At 2:15 a.m., deputies said Paul Gusman, naked from the waist down, went to the home of an Isla Vista pastor named Father Jon-Stephen Hedges in the 6800 block of Fortuna Road.

The man, known as Pastor Jon in the community, heard a man yelling for help and banging on his door, deputies said.

The 22-year-old began throwing his body on the front door, and Father Jon believed someone was in trouble, so he answered, deputies said.

Gusman was accused of then forcing himself into the home and punching Father Jon in the face repeatedly. He was also accused of striking father Jon’s wife on her hand.

Father Jon’s wife called 911 amid the chaos.

When deputies arrived they found Gusman in the front yard of the pastor’s home, and said he appeared intoxicated or under of the influence of drugs.

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He was arrested on suspicion of assault on a person with force likely to produce great bodily injury, residential burglary, elder abuse and dissuading a witness or victim. He was held on $500,000 bail.

Gusman was treated at the hospital for injuries to his hand.

He is expected to be arraigned on May 10.

Hedges was released from the hospital to recover from his major injuries with his family, deputies said. Hedges is a longtime resident of Isla Vista.

Deputies also noted that Hedges and Gusman did not know each other before the attack.

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