Security Video Shows Attackers Picking Through Beaten Vendor's Pockets
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Newly-released security video shows several people rifling through a South Los Angeles street vendor's pockets after they beat him and chased him down.
The attack happened at 5 a.m. Sunday as 54-year-old Pedro Reyes and other vendors were getting ready to sell their wares at San Pedro and 31st Street.
According to the LAPD, about five or six males and at least one female got out of two vehicles and demanded his money. Even though Reyes handed over his money, Reyes received a horrific beating.
Security video shows Reyes running into the street before he's knocked down by one of the assailants. As he's lying in the street, three people bend down and rifle through his clothes.
Reyes, who works a roofing job five days a week, suffered facial fractures, a broken jaw, a cut to the throat, and several teeth knocked out. He is scheduled to undergo surgery Monday. A second vendor, Luis Gutierrez, said the attack left marks on his tongue and nose, and bruises on the side of his face, while a third vendor also suffered minor injuries.
Gutierrez said between the three vendors, they were robbed of hundreds of dollars.
His stepson set up a GoFundMe to help pay for his medical expenses because he has no health insurance. Donations have totaled more than $55,000 within a day.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)