Sunday, June 24, 2012

Two Hispanics are in custody in connection with the road-rage beating of another man on the Golden State Freeway near downtown Los Angeles

David Mendez, 21, and Edras Ramirez, 27, both of Los Angeles, have been booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Mendez and Ramirez went to a CHP office and were interviewed and arrested. Investigators have not decided whether charges are warranted against their victim, identified as 50-year-old Jerry Patterson, who has not been arrested. A smartphone video of the confrontation was posted on the website LiveLeak, and received more than 130,000 hits within hours. The video depicts Patterson arguing with three men outside their cars on the side of the freeway. Patterson and one of the three men square off and exchange blows, but then a second man jumps Patterson and helps take him to the ground. Patterson said that he was trying to drive away from his assailants but they chased him down and blocked his vehicle. On the video, shortly after he was knocked to the ground, Patterson appeared to fall unconscious. The two Hispanic suspects then repeatedly kicked him in the head as he lay on the pavement with his arms at his sides. The three men then got into an older model Volkswagen Jetta and fled the scene. The video showed the Volkswagen's license plate number as 3UGW962, and authorities sought public help to find the suspects. Apparently in response to the publicity, Mendez and Ramirez went to the CHP office to talk with investigators, who arrested them.

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