Suspects Caught On Tape In Freeway Beating To Be Arraigned
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Two men accused of knocking another motorist unconscious, then repeatedly kicking him alongside the Golden State (5) Freeway in an attack captured by a cell-phone camera are scheduled to be arraigned Friday.
David Mendez, 21, and Edras Ramirez, 27, both of Los Angeles, are each charged with assault with a deadly weapon -- a foot -- and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury. They each face up to seven years in prison if convicted.
The men are accused of brawling with 49-year-old Jerry Patterson while all three were stopped on the freeway just north of Marietta Street on June 12. A cell phone video of the fight showed Patterson first fighting with one man before a second joined the fray.
Patterson was knocked to the ground, apparently unconscious, and his two assailants kicked him in the head several time before getting back into a car and leaving the scene.
Mendez and Ramirez both surrendered to authorities June 20. They were booked and released on $60,000 bail.
The smartphone video of the confrontation -- recorded by a motorist who came upon the scene -- was posted on the website LiveLeak and received more than 130,000 hits within hours.
Patterson has not been charged in connection with the roadside fight, but he was arrested on a bench warrant for allegedly failing to appear in court in Long Beach earlier this year in connection with a DUI, hit-and-run and battery case. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is due back in court Aug. 8 in that case.