East Los Angeles family calls for justice after attack left stepmother brain dead
An East Los Angeles family demanded justice Monday night for their stepmother who was left brain dead following an altercation involving a homeless man in Boyle Heights earlier this year.
Surveillance video recorded in March shows 78-year-old José Juan Rangel Hernández struggling with a transient in the parking lot of a McDonald’s on Soto Street.
Rangel Hernández said he and his wife were sitting in the drive-thru when a homeless man began punching him through an open window.
José Juan Rangel Hernández is seen in an image provided by family members. José Juan Rangel Hernández (L) and Maria Vargas (R) are seen in an image provided by family members. José Juan Rangel Hernández (middle) is seen with his family in an image provided by family members. An image from surveillance video shows Maria Vargas down in a parking lot in Boyle Heights after hitting her head. (handout video)
Rangel Hernández got out of the car to defend himself and the two men ended up on the ground.
The video also shows Maria Vargas, who is partially blind, exiting the vehicle and slowly approaching her husband and the stranger.
As the two men continue to wrestle, the transient bumps Vargas, and she falls to the ground, hitting her head on the concrete.
“The man bumped her with his body and dropped her. She hit her head. Because of that, she had a heart attack,” Vargas’ stepdaughter Veronica Rangel said at a news conference Monday.
Vargas, who is 55 years old, was taken to a hospital and released after a week but needed to be readmitted due to a series of complications.
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Doctors later told the family that Vargas was brain dead and there was no hope for recovery.
Rangel said the suspect was charged with a misdemeanor and could attack someone else after already being released from jail.
“He’s a free man. My father’s wife, our stepmother is dying or pretty much dead, and where’s the justice? There was no justice at all,” Rangel said during a news conference Monday night.
Rangel Hernández also went to the podium during the news conference but broke down in tears while talking about his wife of 30 years.
The family is calling on the District Attorney’s Office to take action before the man attacks again.
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The DA’s Office did not have an update on the case as of Tuesday morning but KTLA legal analyst Alison Triessl says the man could find himself back behind bars.
“If Miss Vargas passes away from her injuries as a result of the fall, the defendant in the case actually can be charged with a felony. He can be charged with a felony involuntary manslaughter which carries up to four years in the state prison because you do not have to have the intent to kill,” Triessl said.
A GoFuneMe page has been organized to help Rangel Hernández and his family.
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