Elderly US man with dementia thrashed, punched after trying to get into wrong car, 2 charged

Two people were arrested on charges of assaulting an elderly man in the US’s Houston after the latter mistakenly attempted to get into the wrong car in a parking lot.

According to a report by The New York Post, the incident occurred on Saturday, while the man, identified as 67-year-old Florentino Hurtado, was at a local market with his wife.

Hurtado has been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia (a progressive disease beginning with mild memory loss and possibly leading to loss of the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to the environment), for the past two years.

The man’s daughter told ABC13 that Hurtado remained behind in the car at the parking lot while his wife went inside the store at the time of the incident.

Surveillance footage showed Hurtado exiting the car, looking disoriented, which Jessica said was typical of her father in his current state. He then attempted to pull on the door handle of the wrong car, which was locked.

Trayvon Lockridge and Deroderic Stephens, who appeared to own the car, then brutally beat the elderly man, stomping his head on the street and punching him repeatedly, the report stated.

The accused also stole Hurtado’s mobile phone before fleeing the spot, leaving the injured elderly man on the ground.

The man was admitted to the hospital and suffered a broken cheekbone, a possible traumatic brain injury, a black eye and several cuts that required stitches, his family said.

The two accused were charged with aggravated robbery.