HIALEAH, FLA. (WSVN) - A man passing out flyers on the side of the road was, officials said, attacked by two homeless men claiming to be protecting their territory.
Despite being attacked just days before, Luis Morales didn’t let anything stop him from returning to work Wednesday.
Those homeless men, identified as Edgar Rodriguez and Juan Guerra, faced a judge Tuesday morning. Both of them faced a felony charge of aggravated battery on an elderly man.
The 67-year-old victim was handing out fliers for an insurance company at the intersection near West 12th Avenue and 84th Street, Monday, when the two homeless men approached him and claimed they “owned” that corner.
Morales said they then demanded money but he refused. He said the pair left the intersection, only to return with an electric cable and attacked him. “They cornered me and each one had a cable in their hands,” Morales said through a translator. “They were able to hit me in the back.”
He was able to find a cable that resembled the one the duo hit him with at the homeless men’s camp just steps from where the incident took place.
“A lot of burning. A lot of burning,” he said through the translator. “And it left a mark on my back.”
Morales said he managed to run to a nearby gas station to get help. The victim said a woman who was driving by saw the attack and called police.
He said he goes to that intersection several times a week to hand out the fliers and has noticed those two homeless men.
Morales returned to work Wednesday because he said this is his way of earning a living. “I don’t earn a lot from this, but it helps me live,” he said. “I have to do it because there’s no other way for me to get extra money.”
The victim did not suffer any major injuries.
Rodriguez and Guerra are now behind bars, both being held on a $1,500 bond.
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