SLO County paddleboarder accused of assaulting woman in surf rage incident
The man who allegedly used a paddleboard paddle as a deadly weapon while surfing on Morro Strand State Beach pleaded not guilty to felony assault charges Wednesday morning.
Andrew Eric Gustafson, a 59-year-old Morro Bay resident, was charged with two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon — one with force that could cause great bodily injury — on Tuesday.
California State Parks originally booked Gustafson on suspicion of attempted murder, but the District Attorney’s Office did not file that charge.
Eric Hjelstrom, chief ranger for California State Parks’ San Luis Obispo Coast District, told The Tribune that witnesses at the scene said it appeared Gustafson ran into a surfer intentionally on Saturday around 10:45 a.m.
Witnesses reported the woman caught a wave, Hjelstrom said, and Gustafson then came up from behind on his stand-up paddleboard and collided with her in the surf zone.
After the collision, Gustafson allegedly used his paddle as a weapon and at one point “jumped on her surfboard and held her head underwater for an amount of time,” Hjelstrom said.
Hjelstrom said witnesses told the State Parks ranger who responded to the incident that Gustafson used profanity at some point during the altercation with the surfer.
He said the victim in the case did not request or require medical assistance at the scene.
San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Michael Duffy lowered Gustafson’s bail from $550,000 to $25,000.
Gustafson’s next hearing was scheduled for Sept. 3.
This story was originally published August 27, 2025 at 1:35 PM with the headline "SLO County paddleboarder accused of assaulting woman in surf rage incident."
