A homeless man was arrested in connection with the violent assault of a 70-year-old man in North Hollywood, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Tuesday.
Richard Vitagliano is accused of attacking Harpal Singh on Aug. 4 with a golf club. Singh was on his daily walk near Sikh Gurdwara of LA when he was beaten with the club.
After the attack, LAPD officers were told to be on the lookout for the suspect, McDonnell said, as they received a picture of the man from surveillance cameras on Monday. Later that night, the alleged assailant was taken into custody in North Hollywood.
Vitagliano, a known unhoused person in the area, has an extensive criminal record related to drug, assault and weapons charges, McDonnell said.
The LAPD chief said, despite the victim being a member of the Sikh community, the attack was not a hate crime.
“(It) was motivated by a dispute over property belonging to the victim,” McDonnell said. “The North Hollywood command will be conducting extra patrol in the area following the incident and will continue to engage the community to discuss public safety and address any other concerns.”
The Sikh Coalition, however, issued a statement questioning whether that determination can be made yet, since the suspect was only recently arrested and the victim is unable to be interviewed.
“I am grateful to hear that the police have arrested a suspect for the horrific assault of my brother, but we need to better understand this attack and why it is not being considered a hate crime,’’ Singh’s brother, Gurdial Singh Randhawa, said in a statement released by the coalition.
“Justice must be served, and our local Sikh community must know that the area around our gurdwara -- where we gather to worship, learn, connect, eat, and serve others -- is safe for all.’’
The coalition also said: "Fundamentally, we do not believe this incident can be definitively declared not a hate crime after such a short investigation.’’
Vitagliano remained at Van Nuys jail as of Tuesday after being booked for the charge of assault with a deadly weapon.
