Donations Top $60,000 For Ice Cream Vendor Who Was Beaten

NORTH HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — Laura Rodriguez is taking care of her bruised and battered father-in-law, an ice cream vendor beaten and robbed for $80.

Donations to Juan Martinez on gofundme have now shot up to more than $60,000.

"He has a fractured nose; he was swollen up to here and now it goes down to here," Rodriguez said, indicating the man's injuries. "I don't know if you can tell, but it's kind of swollen."

Actor and comedian George Lopez appears to be getting involved, sharing the story on Facebook and pledging to donate to the 71-year-old man who was attacked Tuesday while out pushing his ice cream cart.

It was after dark when police say two men approached Martinez. After beating him, they grabbed his week's earnings of about $80 and took off.

An undocumented immigrant, he's spent the past 30 years selling ice cream to get by. Rodriguez is prepared for backlash.

"I don't care," Rodriquez said. "They don't know his struggles. They don't know what he's lived."

Without his papers, an immigration attorney will have to help Martinez retrieve the donations.

Police don't have any security video of a beating, but they do have some still images of people who were in the area at that time. They may seek those people for questioning.