San Francisco police arrest suspect in brutal beating of homeless man
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco police have arrested a man accused of viciously beating a homeless man in the Tenderloin Wednesday night.
The victim is in critical condition at San Francisco's General Hospital.
Police released surveillance video hoping someone in the public would recognize the attacker. But in the end, it was a San Francisco police officer who spotted him right back at the scene of the crime.
Thanks to the clear images captured by surveillance cameras outside the Gangway Bar on Larkin Street, police arrested Fairfield resident Arthur Lee Jones.
"Pulls out a blunt metal object and, almost like a baseball swing, swings it across the left side of the victims head, knocking him unconscious," said San Francisco police officer Carlos Manfredi.
They say he's the man in the video seen striking a homeless man in the head with a metal pipe. "One of our Tenderloin officers, around 10:45 p.m., spotted the individual, the suspect, right on the corner of Larkin and Geary," Ofc. Carlos Manfredi said.
The arrest comes just over 24 hours after the crime, a vicious and unprovoked beating that sent the victim to the hospital in critical condition.
Justin Cunningham saw it happen. He's the man you can see smoking a cigarette in the video. "Before I looked up after lighting a smoke, Robert was hit on the head by a pipe and this guy is almost walking on top of me and I'm not quite sure if what I just saw happened or didn't happen," he said.
People who know Robert are horrified at what happened to him. "He's been hanging out here for a long time, he's very affable. A nice guy, never started any trouble," Gangway bartender Bob Ames said.
Manfredi also says Robert is a nice guy. He and his partner often tried to help him, taking him to shelters and even buying him shoes once.
"Regardless of whether or not you're homeless, you know everybody has a right to feel safe," Manfredi said.
The suspect faces charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault.
