Encino man pleads not guilty in Griffith Park attack

An Encino man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to attacking a man with a rock and a steel trash can at Griffith Park, authorities said.

Tyrone Isumu, 54, is charged with attempted murder after severely injuring the man, who is comatose and has paralysis, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Isumu and the man were at the park Monday near the 2200 block of Fern Dell Drive, authorities said. Isumu struck the man multiple times with a rock, then grabbed a large steel trash can and hit him with it.

Two hikers found the injured man about 2:30 p.m. along a trail. The man was airlifted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Police say they arrested Isumu later that evening.

Isumu, who is being held on $530,000 bail, was previously convicted of robbery in 1998, according to the criminal complaint.

If convicted, Isumu faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole, prosecutors said.

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