"What I can say is his actions speak to someone who doesn't value human life very much," San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said.
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He echoed what the public was thinking.
The brutal assault January 8 on 88-year-old Yik Oi Huang was so heinous, it galvanized not only the community but police.
They worked tirelessly over two weeks to identify and arrest him.
RELATED: Suspect arrested in beating of 88-year-old woman in SF
On January 16, a week after the assault, police say 18-year-old Keonte Gathron was involved in a carjacking on Visitacion Avenue.
They say he abandoned the car at a gas station, but not before it captured his face on a security camera video.
Two days later, police learned that DNA evidence taken from the scene of Huang's assault matched Gathron's DNA sample which was in the database, a sample from an old crime.
"There were some gloves, and we were able to obtain a profile off those gloves that matched the suspect in this that tied him to the crime," Commander Greg Mceachern explained,
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Police then put out a crime alert showing the gas station video. They now had their suspect.
But, during his freedom Gathron allegedly committed other crimes.
As he rode a red bicycle on Woolsey Avenue, police say he stole a 14-year-old girl's cellphone at gunpoint.
RELATED: Family, community rally for San Francisco grandmother assaulted on playground
Then, two hours later a new victim - a 17-year-old girl.
The suspect approached the victim on the same red bicycle, punched the victim in the face and stole her iPhone.
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Officers tracked the iPhone to the Sunnydale District.
During a search there, they found Gathron after a foot chase hiding in a car.
They recovered his jacket, which police say was the same one he wore during the carjacking.
He has been charged with attempted murder for the assault on Huang, and a long list of other charges for his alleged crimes.
Go here if you'd like to contribute to a GoFundMe to raise money for the victim's medical bills if no reward is collected.
VIDEO: SFPD details alleged crime spree after suspect arrested in brutal beating
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