Calif. Paddleboarder Allegedly Attacked Female Surfer, Held Her Underwater: 'I Thought I Was Going to Die' By KC Baker

A California man is accused of attacking a female surfer with his paddleboard and holding her head underwater in the Pacific Ocean — and now the case is headed to trial.

Andrew Eric Gustafson, 60, of Morro Bay, was arrested in 2025 and charged with assault with a deadly weapon, “to wit, a paddleboard,” and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury for an incident that took place on or around Aug. 23, 2025, according to the criminal complaint reviewed by PEOPLE.

The alleged crime, according to the complaint, “involved great violence” with a victim who was “particularly vulnerable.”

Gustafson pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to KEWT.

On Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, the victim, identified as Haylee Red-Van Rooyen, appeared at a preliminary hearing for Gustafson, telling the court that on the day of the incident, she was surfing with friends, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported.

While she was in the water, far away from where he was at the time, “he took the wave from behind me and came just tearing down the line, and then ran into the back of me and knocked me off the board,” she alleged, per the Tribune.

Upset, she said she asked him “What the hell [are you] doing?” she testified.

He allegedly fired back with expletives before paddling to where she and her friends were in the water, she said, per the Tribune.

He allegedly hit her with his paddleboard while screaming and swearing at her and then climbed on her board while “towering over her” before they both tumbled into the water, she testified.

Once in the ocean, “He grabs my hair, yanks my head back and my neck all the way back, and then throws my head forward, yanks me all the way under the water, and then held me under the water,” Red-Van Rooyen alleged.

“I thought I was going to die,” Red-Van Rooyen said in court, per the Tribune.

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Gustafson’s lawyer, Ilan Funke-Bilu, argued that the charges against his client should be lowered to misdemeanors, the newspaper reported.

The judge denied the request, saying the charges will remain as felonies due to the “seriousness of the conduct,” per the Tribune.

Gustafson is scheduled to return to court on March 2, according to online court records.

His attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.