California man arrested for punching 60-year-old pushing a baby, also a suspect in attack of minor
A California man was arrested Wednesday for punching another man while he was pushing a stroller down a street in Calabasas, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a release.
The incident, reported on Tuesday evening, occurred on the 4000 block of Lost Spring Road. Security camera footage nearby confirmed what happened.
Angel Sanchez Jr., 29, was arrested in Oxnard on assault charges a day later.
In the video, a male attacker is seen knocking a 60-year-old man, who was pushing a stroller, to the ground. After attacking him, the perpetrator can be seen getting into a parked minivan and driving away.
The driveway where the minivan was parked did not belong to the assailant. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department later identified the vehicle as a silver 2005 Honda Odyssey with a Nevada license plate.
According to neighbors who spoke to KTLA, the man and the infant are safe and in good condition.
"The man who was attacked is a very nice community member," Mary Steele told KTLA. "He has a beautiful home, people know who he is, and the baby is an innocent victim."
Police say Sanchez is also a suspect in an attack on a 14-year-old boy that occurred the same afternoon.
According to police, Sanchez assaulted the minor near the 26000 block of Agoura Road and Lost Springs Drive/Cottonwood Grove Trail in Calabasas.
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Nathan Manyari, who Sanchez allegedly assaulted, spoke to NBC Los Angeles about what happened.
“He just came up from behind me and grabbed me,” Manyari told NBC LA. “He tried to hit the back of my head first and then he tried kneeing my body. ... I protected myself pretty good. I hit him in the stomach but it wasn’t really that effective. He kept grabbing my shirt, he threw me. He kind of tossed me into bushes, I rolled down a little hill. He just walked off, didn’t say anything.”
LASD noted that both Manyari and the 60-year-old man are of Asian descent but the motive for the attacks remains under investigation.