Vendor Beaten in $10 Robbery Is Critical
A Los Angeles street vendor severely beaten in a daylight robbery that netted $10 and a handful of balloons was in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said Friday.
Augustine Ruiz, 28, was at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. “His prognosis is not good at all,” spokeswoman Maria Cancino said.
Ruiz was beaten unconscious Thursday while hawking his wares on a busy intersection about 10 miles south of downtown, sheriff’s deputies said.
A crowd of onlookers gawked at the fallen vendor, but none moved to help him, said Harry Neely, owner of a restaurant near the intersection.
Jeffrey Batiste, 18, of Torrance and Bobbie Watkins, 24, of Los Angeles were booked for investigation of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, Sheriff’s Deputy Pat Hunter said. A teen-age girl, whose name was not released, was arrested for investigation of robbery.
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