Terrifying footage shows the moment a 67-year-old man was brutally accosted in a Houston parking lot after accidentally trying to get into his attackers' car.
The victim the clip attacked has since been identified as Florentino Hurtado, who family members said was diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer's disease two years ago.
The men seen carrying out the assault – which happened outside a local meat market on Saturday – are believed to be Trayvion Lockridge and Derodric Stephens, who are both in police custody following the attack.
The pair – seen bombarding the senior before stomping him to the ground – are charged with aggravated robbery of a victim over the age of 65.
The state first asked that Lockridge's bond be set at $1 million, but the defense responded with a request for $3,000. The amount, in turn, was set at $50,000 after police expressed their belief that Lockridge punched Hurtado eight times and punched him at least four times.
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Frightening footage shows the moment 67-year-old Florentino Hurtado was brutally accosted in a Houston parking lot after accidentally trying to get into his attackers' car
As Hurtado recovers from a broken cheekbone, numerous cuts that required stitches and a possible traumatic brain injury, his daughter Jessica described Thursday how she believes the attack occurred.
Stephens' bond, meanwhile, has not been posted because prosecutors said he has five pending cases in addition to the new charges. This charge, which is more serious than regular robbery, carries a maximum prison sentence of ninety-nine years.
As Hurtado recovers from a broken cheekbone, numerous cuts that required stitches and a possible traumatic brain injury, his daughter Jessica described Thursday how she believes the attack occurred.
“My father, you can see him stumble and get up, and you could see that he was obviously confused and dazed as well, and he started wandering toward the pawn shop,” Jessica said, recounting the now widely seen security clip.
Pointing to a section where her Spanish-speaking father pulled on the door handle of the couple's car, she said her father probably got confused and possibly mistook their car for hers.
“A simple push, a simple 'Go away,'” Jessica said, explaining that her father had been with her mother at the time and needed constant supervision.
She further cited that the retiree does not speak a word of English – a fact that likely contributed to the confusion and violent beating that followed.
“My father would have run away,” she insisted, before revealing some heartbreaking details behind her father's likely long road to recovery.
“It's hard to watch the surveillance video, to see someone having aggression towards someone and the fact that it's our father,” she added, before tearfully stating, “He didn't deserve it.”
The men seen carrying out the assault – which happened outside a local meat market on Saturday – are believed to be Trayvion Lockridge (left) and Derodric Stephens, who are both in police custody following the attack.
“My father, you can see him stumble and get up, and you could see that he was obviously confused and dazed as well, and he started wandering toward the pawn shop,” Jessica said, recounting the now widely seen security clip.
Pointing to a section where her Spanish-speaking father pulled the door handle of the couple's car, she said her father probably got confused and possibly mistook their car for hers
“A simple push, a simple 'Go away,'” Jessica said, explaining that her father had been with her mother at the time and needed constant supervision.
She further cited that the retiree does not speak a word of English – a fact that likely contributed to the confusion and violent beating that followed.
After the attack, the suspects somehow managed to escape, while a badly damaged Hurtado is seen dusting himself off before staggering aimlessly around the lot.
His attackers, police said, fled in the car in question after leaving with Hurtado's cell phone, as today's senior would have no memory of the attack.
Jessica said her father — who remains in the hospital with a pronounced black eye — weighs less than 100 pounds and had been waiting in his car while his wife went to the market.
The surveillance footage outside Tidwell's meat shop in the 5900 block of North Shepherd tells the rest of the story, and how the two easily enraged assailants traded blows on Hurtado until he collapsed into submission.
Jessica added that her father — who remains in the hospital with a pronounced black eye — weighs less than 100 pounds and had been waiting in his car while his wife went to the market for a food ingredient to make tamales.
After walking out and pulling the wrong lever, the two men – who are noticeably larger than the victim – entered the frame and repeatedly hit Hurtado's head, leaving him on the sidewalk.
Even in this position, Hurtado's ambush continued, with the pair ramming the senior's head into the concrete several times.
After the attack, the suspects somehow managed to escape, while a badly damaged Hurtado is seen dusting himself off before staggering aimlessly around the lot.
Police said the two men ultimately left in the car in question after making off with Hurtado's cellphone because the senior allegedly had no memory of the attack.
“We're already dealing with a lot of Alzheimer's disease, and anyone who has family dealing with dementia knows it's a lot,” Jessica said.
“So the fact that this had to happen is just sad. It's really sad,” she continued. “My father didn't deserve this at all.”
She then expressed her disapproval of the state's decision to offer Lockridge a $50,000 bond.
“It's just sad,” she said during a sitdown interview, growing increasingly emotional.
“It's really sad, my dad didn't deserve this at all,” she added. “We just want justice for my father. That's all we want.'
Both men remain in custody as of Saturday on aggravated theft charges.
Stephens, meanwhile, has yet to appear in court to set his bond.