Unhinged woman caught on video physically attacking street vendor. Cops say freak out happened after victim asked attacker to pay for eaten food.
A woman was caught on video physically attacking a street vendor in the Watts section of Los Angeles on Sunday evening — and police said the freak out happened after the victim asked the attacker to pay for her eaten food.
What are the details?
Police arrived at Grandee Avenue and East 103rd Street around 6:35 p.m. and determined that the woman — identified as 36-year-old Renee Latrice Hines of Bakersfield — "punched and pepper sprayed" street vendor Joana Vasquez of Tacos Ortiz, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Cops said the attack started when Vasquez "asked the suspect to pay for the tacos she had consumed," the Times said, citing a police news release.
The paper said Tacos Ortiz staff recorded and posted video of the incident on Instagram on Monday afternoon. In one clip, the woman exits her 2007 pink Lexus and charges at the vendors, appearing to throw a bottle at the stand's male owner, the Times noted.
More from the paper:
She then launches into a table and grabs Vasquez by the shirt, attempting to drag her away from the stand. As she yanks Vasquez with her right arm, she punches the much smaller vendor with her left arm and screams obscenities before eventually stopping after about 15 seconds, according to the video.
The stand’s owner then runs to record the woman’s license plate, and she responds by grabbing the vendor’s plastic sandwich board sign and chucking it at him. She continues yelling profanities before returning to her car on the passenger side as another person drives the vehicle away.
Here's the clip. Content warning: Language:
Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics treated Vasquez for her injuries, the Times said.
Hines was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, and her bail was set at $30,000, police said Thursday, according to the paper.
The Instagram video includes Spanish text superimposed on the clip that reads “be careful with these types of people. They arrive ordering food, and when it comes to paying, they act like this," the Times added.
Another consequence
The paper also said a company on Wednesday confirmed that it terminated Hines' temporary employment after finding out about the incident. The Times noted that the tipster was street vendor activist Edin Alex Enamorado, who organizes group chats with several south Los Angeles street vendors.
Enamorado said the woman had dined at Tacos Ortiz "at least two times before" and fled without paying, the paper reported, adding that Tacos Ortiz employees on Sunday decided to capture on video her return visit.
"It’s a perfect storm between racism, the economy and the stigma of people thinking that sellers don’t want to obtain permits," Enamorado added to the Times. "There's a pettiness and hatred that builds up for street vendors that leads to hatred."
The paper said calls to Tacos Ortiz weren't immediately returned.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment