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California woman arrested in beating of 92-year-old man

'She was yelling at him, 'Go back to your country,' or 'Go back to Mexico,' a neighbor who witnessed the attack told the Los Angeles Times.
Credit: GoFundMe
Erik Mendoza shared this photo as part of a GoFundMe for his grandfather, who was assaulted while on a daily walk in South Los Angeles.

A California woman was arrested on Tuesday in the beating of a 92-year-old man out for a walk on the Fourth of July.

Laquisha Jones, 30, was booked for assault with a deadly weapon in Los Angeles. Police are still investigating whether more suspects were involved.

Rodolfo Rodriguez had left for his daily walk near his family's home in Willowbrook on July 4 when he passed a small girl and a woman, the latter of whom attacked him with a concrete block without warning, he told CNN. Soon after, a group of men attacked Rodriguez, he said.

Misbel Borjas, a neighbor, witnessed the attack from her car, she told the Los Angeles Times. She captured the incident on video shared with KTLA-TV, which shows Rodriguez with blood running down his face. He was left unable to walk along with a broken cheek bone, bruised ribs and head injuries, the station reported.

“She was yelling at him, ‘Go back to your country,’ or ‘Go back to Mexico,’” Borjas told the Times. “It was racist.”

Police said on Tuesday that a motive for the attack is still unknown.

Rodriguez travels to the U.S. yearly from Michoacan, Mexico, to visit his family in Willowbrook, grandson Erik Mendoza told CNN, which reported that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was seeking up to five suspects — the woman and three or four men — as of Monday night.

Authorities said Rodriguez may have bumped into the girl, according to KTLA. His grandson expressed shock to the station.

“How can you hurt a 92-year-old man?" said Mendoza. "What kind of threat does he pose to you, for you to do this to him?"

A GoFundMe campaign established by Mendoza for his grandfather's medical expenses has already blown way past its $15,000 goal, raising nearly $200,000.

Rodriguez is now recovering at home, according to NBC Los Angeles.

Contributing: TEGNA Staff

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