Homeless man suspected in LA McDonald's attack to face less severe charges
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LOS ANGELES - After a brutal, unprovoked attack by a homeless man at a McDonald's drive-through in Boyle Heights that left 74-year-old Jose Juan Rangel battered and bruised and his wife Maria Guadalupe Vargas Luna brain-dead, the family has received yet another blow. This time, the LA County District Attorney George Gascón's office states they plan to file a motion to dismiss the most severe charge against Charles Green, a felony count, and only keep the lesser charge of misdemeanor battery.
"The DA, in my opinion, is brushing it off. They're not really seeing the big picture of what impact the injuries that my dad and my stepmother suffered," says Veronica Rangel, the elderly couple's daughter.
In an email, the Deputy District Attorney explained: "The evidence does not establish proof of an intentional act that resulted in Ms. Vargas' fall."
Rangel adds, "They said that he didn't intend to push her, that it was an accident."
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Elderly couple attacked by homeless man outside SoCal McDonald's, family says
In the video, you can see the defendant attacking Jose. They're on the ground, and when Vargas tries to help her husband, she is pushed by the scuffle, falls, and hits her head on the concrete.
"Whatever happened to her, they said he can't be held accountable, only for what he did to my dad. But even what he did to my dad, they want to give him a misdemeanor battery for beating up an old person," laments Rangel.
Victim's Rights Advocate Moses Castillo and a Marsey's law attorney plan to be in court on Friday to ask the judge not to dismiss the felony count.
"She's technically lifeless; the only way she's still alive is because she's breathing through a machine. And it just breaks my heart that the DA's office is no longer advocating for the victims," Castillo said.
The defendant is scheduled for court on Friday at the Criminal Court House in Downtown Los Angeles.
An online fundraiser has since been launched to help the couple. Those looking to help can click here.
