Man Is Critical After Being Robbed, Beaten on Ventura Promenade : Crime: Ronald Ballantyne is struck on the head with a blunt object. Police call it an isolated incident.

VENTURA —  A Ventura man was in critical condition Saturday after being robbed and beaten while walking along the Ventura Promenade. Police are looking for a suspect or suspects in the attack, one of several serious crimes that have occurred at the popular tourist spot in the last two years.

Authorities took Ronald James Ballantyne, 51, to Ventura County Medical Center after he was struck on the head with a blunt object shortly before 8 p.m. Friday.

Police called the incident an “anomaly” and said the oceanfront walkway, often crowded with beach-goers and nighttime strollers, is as safe as other areas of Ventura.

“We have been fairly fortunate not to have any significant things happen there,” said Sgt. Randy Janes of the Ventura Police Department. “This is not an everyday occurrence.”

But the Promenade, which runs from the county fairgrounds to the Ventura Pier, has received its share of police attention.

In a racially motivated attack in February, an African-American musician from Ventura was stabbed while sitting on the swings near the pier.

Robert Reeves, an Oxnard teen-ager, pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon in April, admitting that he stabbed the victim because of his race.

Last October, a U.S. Army sergeant taking a moonlight jog was beaten and shot after a struggle with suspected gang members. Earlier that month, a Ventura man fought off a knife-wielding carjacker who threatened to steal his auto with his baby still in her infant seat.

In the past year, Janes said, police have beefed up patrols along the Promenade, especially since the city’s beachfront renovation project has drawn more tourists to the area. Janes said that plans to open a storefront substation on Main Street during the coming winter will translate into more waterfront patrols.

“Officers assigned to beats [that include the Promenade] are encouraged to spend as much additional time down there as possible,” Janes said.

Police said Ballantyne was walking along the Promenade near the pier at about 7:50 p.m. Friday when he was approached by one or more robbers. The assailant demanded Ballantyne’s wallet, then struck him on the head with a blunt object, police said.

The bleeding victim managed to stagger into the nearby Pineapples restaurant on the Promenade, where employees called an ambulance.

Police said the crime is being treated as an attempted murder.

Restaurant manager Robert Lee said the incident is a blow to those who believe the nearly $1-million waterfront beautification project, which includes a new plaza and street lights, has largely swept away crime.

“This area has been really clean down here,” Lee said. “It’s shocking to all of us.”

News of the incident also rattled visitors to the Promenade on Saturday, but most still hardly consider the waterfront a dangerous place.

“We’ve always felt safe here,” said 75-year-old Ventura resident Gertrude Wachbrit, who was walking along the scenic strip with her husband. “[Crime] happens all over. But we wouldn’t come here at night.”

John Innes, a 50-year-old landscape architect who lives in a condominium complex off the Promenade, said he often takes nighttime walks along the waterfront.

“There are certainly isolated incidents like that,” said Innes, referring to Friday’s assault. “But crime is not on the upswing.”

Although some beach residents and visitors said they planned to avoid the waterfront at night, many said they would not alter their habits because of the incident.

“We can’t let our lives be ruined” by a few criminals, said Steve Carlson, an advertising production artist from Moorpark. “We can’t live in fear.”