Redondo Beach Woman Sentenced for Attacking Tourist at Santa Monica Coffee House

SANTA MONICA, CA - A Redondo Beach woman pleaded no contest Thursday to a Santa Monica coffee house attack on a female tourist who was visiting from New York.

Sara Christine Rizo, 40, was immediately sentenced to one year of residential psychiatric treatment, 494 days already served in county jail and five years probation following her plea to a felony count of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Windham also ordered Rizo to pay $9,500 in restitution to the victim and to stay out of any coffee houses, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Rizo went into the coffee shop at 2nd Street and Santa Monica Boulevard last June 9 and began yelling profanities, according to Deputy District Attorney Eva Jabber Stodel.

She later grabbed the female customer by the hair and yanked it backward, causing the woman to fall and suffer a fractured vertebra in her neck, the prosecutor said.

Authorities said last year that the attack occurred without any provocation.

--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock