Victim, 61, Fought Back With His Fists : Van Nuys Man Stabbed 15 Times by Robbers

A 61-year-old Van Nuys man was in serious but stable condition Thursday with multiple stab wounds he received New Year’s morning when he was robbed by two men and then tried to fight them off, Los Angeles police said.

The victim, Leroy Lewis, a retired landscaper with a heart condition that required two operations, fought back with his fists when one of the robbers continued to attack him after he turned over his watch and money, Detective Rockey Kennedy said.

Lewis was taking his daily walk about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday when two men ambushed him from behind in the 15100 block of Victory Boulevard and one of them stabbed him in the neck and back, Kennedy said.

Punched Attacker in Face

Lewis gave the men about $50 and his watch, but the stabbing did not stop, Kennedy said. Lewis then “punched one of the guys in the face hard enough to throw the guy against a parked car. He really put up a fight.”

Lewis, who was stabbed about 15 times, continued to scuffle with the robber for several minutes before Lewis fell to his knees. Just then, a passing motorist stopped and shined the car’s headlights in the direction of the fight, Kennedy said.

The robbers fled, he said.

“They probably would have killed him if that car hadn’t driven up,” Kennedy said. “He tried to stand up to them and apparently they didn’t like that.”

Lewis was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills, where he was recovering Thursday in the intensive care unit and doing “amazingly well,” a hospital spokeswoman said.

Heart Surgeries

Lane Lewis, the victim’s wife, said her husband underwent triple bypass surgery in 1982 and single bypass surgery seven months later. Since then, he has taken daily walks of 3 to 4 miles as part of his therapy for recovery.

“My husband is tiny but mighty, dynamite in a little package, and what made him mad is that they didn’t stop hurting him after he gave them what he had,” she said. “He’s not out of the woods yet . . . but I’m still thankful to God.”