5 arrested, 1 sought in Davis assaults that injured homeless people and others, police say

Police are searching for a man involved in what investigators called a series of unprovoked attacks, some mounted upon homeless people, by a group of men and juvenile suspects in Davis. The Davis Police Department has arrested another man and four juveniles in connection to the reported assaults.

Authorities said previously they were alerted to the group of attackers when five to six people approached two victims in downtown Davis and began to assault them March 29. One victim suffered serious injuries during the attack, which was reported about 11:40 p.m. at the intersection of Second and F streets, police said on social media.

Investigators combed through surveillance footage provided by area businesses, as well as city-owned cameras, and found a license plate attached to a vehicle that a suspect used to leave the city, police said.

For several months, Davis police investigators investigated the case and arrested five people who were involved in these incidents. Those arrested were a 21-year-old Dixon man and four juveniles, police said in a Thursday news release posted to social media.

Police named 18-year-old Jailen Marsean Samuel Lankford of Dixon as an additional suspect and said he remains at large. His whereabouts are unknown, the Police Department said.

Some of the same people involved in the March 29 attack were also linked to assaults that happened in January and March, according to police.

Police said at least one person in the group attacked a man Jan. 4 near an elevator in a city-owned parking garage at 101 F St. It was unclear whether police have identified a suspect in this attack.

On March 23, the 21-year-old Dixon man and two juveniles attacked a man in the 500 block of L Street, police said. Later that night, the trio are accused of attacking two more men near the same elevator at the Jan. 4 attack.

Neither the attack in January nor the two reported March 23 led to serious injuries, but all the victims were homeless, police said.

A 15-year-old juvenile was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, assault resulting in great bodily injury, conspiracy and battery, police said. He was booked at the Yolo County Juvenile Detention Facility.

Three juveniles were arrested on suspicion of assault- and conspiracy-related charges, Davis police said.

The 21-year-old Dixon man was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, grand theft, battery and conspiracy. He was booked at the Yolo County Jail on Aug. 15 and was released on bond the following day, online jail records show.

Anyone with information about Lankford may contact the Davis Police Department anonymous at 530-758-3600, by email at policeweb@cityofdavis.org or by calling 911 if in Davis.