Torrance Man, 83, Violently Attacked 2 Times By Same Homeless Individual

TORRANCE (CBSLA) - The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said it's investigating and trying to locate a homeless man for two brutal attacks on 83-year-old Tomas Mendoza.

The first assault came about one week ago when Mendoza, on a walk he's taken for nearly 40 years, was randomly attacked along Vermont Street by the homeless individual. Mendoza suffered cuts to the face and required stitches in the back of his head from the beating.

"He gave us a description of what he looked like and i went driving around for a couple of hours and I found the guy," Jessica Mendoza, the 83-year-old's daughter-in-law, told CBSLA's Jake Reiner. "I called police and he was arrested."

However, a second violent encounter with the same individual occurred Saturday. The homeless man attacked Mendoza by throwing rocks at him and hit him in the face.

Mendoza's daughter-in-law said that a Good Samaritan, fortunately, stepped in to stop the violent assault.

"He was shielding him from the rocks," she said.

Police told the Mendoza family that the man had been released after the first attack for lack of evidence. This despite the fact that the victim could identify his attacker after the first incident.

"Yesterday was bad. If the guy didn't jump in to help, we probably would be having a whole different conversation right now," Jessica Mendoza said.

The 83-year-old Mendoza says he feels terrible that he can't go out and walk.