Man pleads not guilty to harassing teenage girls on Laguna Beach bus and pulling one by the hair

A homeless man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 10 criminal charges related to allegations of harassing six teenage girls on a Laguna Beach trolley bus and making comments about shooting up schools, police said.

Kyle Albert Winton, 39, of Laguna Beach entered his plea to one felony count of making criminal threats, one felony count of dissuading a witness from prosecuting a crime, one misdemeanor count of false imprisonment, one misdemeanor count of battery and six misdemeanor counts of child annoyance, according to court records.

Just after 1:30 p.m. Friday, Laguna Beach police received a 911 call from a female rider of a city trolley bus reporting that a man was trying to touch her and a group of girls she was with and was making comments about shooting up schools, according to police.

Officers responded and the trolley stopped on South Coast Highway at Nyes Place, police said. When the girls tried to get off the bus, the man grabbed the hair of one of them and pulled it, police said. He also blocked another girl from reaching the doorway, causing her to turn around and run for the back exit, police said.

At the time of his arrest, Winton was on probation for criminal threats, police said. He was booked into Orange County Jail with bail set at $150,000, authorities said.

He is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 14, according to court and jail records.

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