Santa Ana robbers savagely beat two men, using wrenches as weapons

Every time we post articles about the crime in Santa Ana we get negative comments – some of these anonymous comments are so awful that I have to delete them, from folks who are upset that we are “making Santa Ana look bad.”

So what are we to make of this latest report from the Santa Ana Police Department?  They are looking for a group of suspects who brutally attacked and robbed two men in separate attacks in Santa Ana last week.  Detectives said in the first assault, which happened before dawn Aug. 18 at West 5th and Forest, four robbers nearly killed a man over $26 in his pocket, according to CBS News.

That man, who only wanted to be identified as “Jose Luis,” says he’s scared. The 52-year-old recalls the morning of Aug. 18, when two men approached him on the street near Forest and 1st streets as he walked to his bus stop to head to work as a restaurant cook, according to ABC News.

“In English they say, ‘Homie, give me the money.’ In my pocket I got $26 dollars I give you,” the victim said.

Jose Luis says he handed over the $26 dollars, which was all he had. But they still beat him over the head with a wrench, severing his finger as he tried to protect himself. The victim says he begged them not to hit his head. He had suffered a stroke a few years ago. 

About half a mile from the first attack, a 50-year-old man had just left his home to catch a bus to his job at Las Brisas Restaurant in Laguna Beach. He said he was 30 feet from his front door when two men shouted at him. He turned to run, but one of them blocked his path. The wrench struck his head and he lost consciousness. When he woke up, he was in the hospital, according to the O.C. Register.

The attack left much of his face as an open wound, and he underwent reconstructive surgery on his cheekbone and jaw. He lost two teeth, and on Thursday, stitches and bruises still marked his forehead and cheeks. His job includes health insurance, he said, but he’s unsure when he’ll be able to go back to work. The robbers found $700 in his wallet, which he was carrying to pay rent and other bills, he said.

These attacks were not just robberies – these attackers were clearly trying to maim or kill their victims, who are poor working men that are just trying to survive in our city.

Anyone with information about these attackers should contact Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS or click here for the SAPD’s contact phone numbers.