Miami-Dade Man Mugged While Selling Mangoes

SOUTH MIAMI-DADE(CBS4) - A prominent, retired South Florida attorney is recovering after being attacked outside his South Miami-Dade home Sunday.

Police are looking for two men and a woman who robbed Leland Stansell, 77, in front of his house on Schoolhouse Road.

"His clothes were all ripped up," Stansell's son Jim said. "He kept screaming 'help, help'."

Jim Stansell says his father's jaw was broken in the attack. He's scheduled to have surgery Tuesday.

"He was pretty bruised up and shaken," Stansell said.

Leland Stansell was once the President of the Miami-Dade Bar Association. The retired attorney now enjoys fishing and spending time with his dog. He spends some of his time tending to his property, where mangoes fall by the dozen this time of year.

"Right now the mangoes are everywhere," Jim Stansell said. "So constantly people are knocking on his door to buy some or take some or steal them. He just wants to get rid of them."

Neighbors say the mangoes were the catalyst for a crime.

Friend and neighbor Eddie Santos says it was midday Sunday when a woman stopped by Stansell's home to ask about the fruit.

"She returned and said I want to buy some mangoes but you don't have enough on the street," Santos said. "So he managed to go into the garage and pick up more mangoes and had them in a box."

When he returned, two men attacked Stansell.

They snatched his keys, his cell phone, and money from his wallet.

His son says the thieves went inside the home but left quickly. The locks have since been changed.

"It was 2 guys and a girl" Jim Stansell said. "They sucker-punched him. He went down and got back up."

Jim Stansell believes his elderly father was targeted because of his age, but he says the thieves messed with the wrong man.

"He's very active," Jim Stansell said. "He's not a frail 77-year-old man just sitting home alone."

Police say the woman and one of the men are in their 20s. The other man is in his 40s. Neighbors say they were seen driving a red van, possibly a Dodge or a Chrysler.

If you can help Miami-Dade Police, call Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).