SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Documents show the man accused of pummeling a teenage Syrian refugee on a trolley car has a history of run-ins with authorities.
On Oct. 15, Adrian Vergara was accused of the crime after approaching the teen and asking him if he's Mexican.
"He responded, no I am Arab. He does not speak a lot of English, and with that response the person began to pummel him in the face," Geneviéve Jones-Wright, Legal Director, Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, said.
Tuesday, San Diego Police said they had arrested Vergara on suspicion of assault with force and violation of civil rights.
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10News dug into Vergara's background and found a history of violent incidents.
In 2012, court documents say Vergara threatened a man with a billy club. He did community service in the South Metro Career Center. A letter says he worked well there with special needs students as well as general students.
A certificate also showed he completed a 12-hour anger management program in 2013 and was called an outstanding professional candidate.
RELATED: Teen attacked on trolley in possible hate crime
In 2015, a case was dismissed accusing Vergara of attacking another man. And in 2016, he was charged with grand theft and burglary for breaking into the Central Library.
Later that year, documents say Vergara violated a restraining order against his ex-girlfriend, kicking her front door, texting her and in a phone call, cursing at her and saying, "if you don't talk to me I'm going to go to your job and cause a scene. I don't care about my life."
Documents show he called her 20 times in 30 minutes.
Court documents also show a carjacking charge at the beginning of 2017.
In October 2017, Vergara was charged for beating up a man and given a stay away order from the MTS Imperial Transit Center.
The most recent document shows he violated a court order, put in place to prevent domestic violence in January 2019.
