Man accused of striking police officer with wet towel

Salinas police arrested a 41-year-old man who they say stole a cell phone and struck an officer with a wet towel. Police said Kenny Barba hit the officer at about 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday after police met with him to recover a stolen cell phone that officials believed he had. Barba was booked into the Monterey County Jail on suspicion of possession of stolen property and battery on a police officer. His bail is set at $10,000.

Police said the arrest came a day after someone broke into a car outside a Mi Pueblo Grocery Store on East Alisal and swiped a cell phone. When the victim discovered the break-in the following morning, he asked several people in the area, including Barba, a street sweeper, if they had seen anything. They all said "no," police said. Using GPS technology, officials said, the victim found that his cell phone "pinged" closest to an apartment complex on the 600 block of Archer Street.


Photo from here.

When he knocked on a door, officials said, Barba opened it and denied having the phone. The victim told him, police said, that all he wanted was the sim card and would pay $50 for it. Barba told him to come back later. Accompanied by officers, the man returned to Barba's apartment at about 3 p.m. on Tuesday, police said. Barba told officers the cell phone was in an apartment downstairs.

As one of the officers went to check, Barba struck another officer on the arm with a wet towel that he held in his hand. Police said Barba had told them he got scared. After a search of Barba's apartment, officers found the cell phone under his bed, they said.