San Leandro Police confirmed Wednesday the arrest of two teens in a weekend attack on an elderly Asian man. The attack was captured on surveillance video, with the attackers heard laughing as they fled the scene.
According to a statement, police arrested an 11-year-old and a 17-year-old for the robbery.
Additionally, the 11-year-old involved in the attack was also seen driving a vehicle that was stolen on May 10 in Oakland.
Detectives are conducting further investigations to see if the juveniles may have been involved in other crimes.
The 80-year-old victim was on a walk at around 4 p.m. Saturday when two hooded, masked young men knocked him to the ground, assaulted him and took off his Fitbit on Acapulco Road, police said.
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A third member of the group comes up in the video but does not get involved. There’s a struggle, and finally, all three get into a dark sedan and drive off.
A neighbor, who did not want to be identified, came out when he heard the commotion. “He said he was robbed for his watch, and they tried to take his wallet but luckily he wasn’t seriously injured,” the neighbor said.
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As the thieves leave, you can hear the sound of their laughter.
The neighbor said he heard the victim tell police his thoughts on a motive, in addition to robbery.
“He‘s noticed it’s been going on a lot in the Bay Area, and he thought he was targeted for being Asian as well,” he said.
On Tuesday, police told NBC Bay Area the same three men were believed to be responsible for robbing a Hispanic woman of her purse in the 500 block of Bancroft Avenue at about 5:45 p.m. that same day.
But even with so many possible charges, legal analyst Steven Clarke says it's unlikely the 11-year-old will even be sent to Juvenile Hall.
“There have been a number of attacks that he's associated with, but at the same time, the system of juvenile justice is set up for rehabilitation, no punishment,” he said.
Just two months ago, San Leandro police released the startling numbers they found violent crimes against Asians jumped by 283% in their city from 2019 to 2020. That’s in a city that is 36% Asian American.
