Two men were arrested after they viciously beat up and robbed a 67-year-old man diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia in a Houston parking lot after he tried to get in the wrong car.
Senior citizen Florentino Hurtado and his wife went to a local meat market on Saturday. Hurtado, who has been struggling with diagnoses for the past two years, remained behind in the car while his wife went inside the store, his daughter, Jessica, told ABC13.
Surveillance footage shows Hurtado exiting the car, looking disoriented — which Jessica said is typical of her father in his current state. He then tries to pull on the door handle of the wrong car, video shows, but the door was locked.
Trayvon Lockridge and Deroderic Stephens, who appeared to own the car, then got out and brutally beat the elderly man, stomping his head into the street and punching him repeatedly, video shows.
The assailants stole Hurtado’s cellphone before driving off, leaving him on the ground in the parking lot.
“My dad, you can see him stumble up and get up, and you could tell he was obviously confused and dazed as well, and he started wandering towards the pawnshop,” Jessica told ABC13.
Hurtado, who weighs less than 100 pounds, suffered a broken cheekbone, a possible traumatic brain injury, a black eye and several cuts that required stitches, his family said.
Jessica said her father does not speak English, which could have added to the confusion.
“It’s hard to watch (the surveillance video), to see someone have that aggression towards somebody and the fact that it’s our dad,” Jessica said. “He didn’t deserve it.”
“A simple push, a simple ‘Go away,” she added. “My dad would have walked away.”
Lockridge and Stephens were tracked down by police and each charged with aggravated robbery over 65, officials told the outlet.
Hurtado had a brief moment of clarity about the attack in the hospital, but has since not been able to recall how he was injured.
“I understand my dad made a horrible mistake, but he didn’t deserve what that person did to him, so it’s been very hard,” Jessica said. “I think anyone who understands the people who deal with Alzheimer’s or just older people, everyone gets confused.”
Lockridge, 30, who has no priors, had his bond set at $50,000, according to ABC13.
Stephens, 37, has five pending cases in addition to his new charge. His bond has not yet been set.
