$15K Reward For East LA Hammer Attacker Renewed

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Board of Supervisors renewed a $15,000 reward Tuesday in the hopes of finding a man who attacked two people with a hammer in East Los Angeles.

Supervisor Hilda Solis recommended extending the reward, which is set to expire July 10, calling the March 25 attacks "brutal" and saying the victims appeared to have been chosen at random.

The first attack happened in the 1400 block of South Bonnie Beach Place, where the suspect approached a man who Sanchez described as "elderly" and, without provocation, struck him with "a hammer-like weapon." When the man fell to the ground, the suspect kicked him before running off.

A few hours later, and less than three blocks away from the first crime scene, a woman standing in front of a home was similarly attacked by a man wielding a hammer-like weapon, according to the detective. The woman was struck several times on the head and knocked unconscious.

Both victims were admitted to a hospital in serious condition.

The suspect was described as a heavyset Hispanic man with a goatee. He's believed to be about 40 to 45 years old, 5-foot-10 to 6-foot tall and between 200 and 240 pounds. He wore a straw hat, blue windbreaker-type jacket, sunglasses, brown cargo shorts and white shoes at the time of the attacks.

Anyone with information can call the sheriff's East Los Angeles Station at (323) 264-4151.