Million-dollar bail set in baseball bat beating of homeless man
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) -- A 65-year-old man arrested after allegedly beating a sleeping homeless man over the head five times with a metal baseball bat in San Francisco's Mission Bay neighborhood remained in custody Thursday in lieu of $1 million bail.
San Francisco resident Donald MacPherson was arrested shortly after officers responded to a report of an assault in the 1200 block of Seventh Street at about 6 a.m. Tuesday, according to San Francisco police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza.
Police located a 58-year-old man suffering from multiple head injuries. Emergency crews transported him to San Francisco General Hospital for treatment.
The victim was able to tell officers that he had been sleeping on a platform when a man began beating him on the head with a metal baseball bat and yelling that he was going to kill him.
The victim told officers he recognized the suspect as a fellow transient man and provided them with a physical description.
Officers located MacPherson, who has white hair and a beard, about a block away on Seventh Street near a storage facility.
MacPherson was detained and identified as the suspect. Officers arrested him on suspicion of making criminal threats, mayhem and attempted murder.
MacPherson made his initial appearance in court Thursday afternoon with bandages on his finger and his ear.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Daniel Flores set MacPherson's bail at $1 million and scheduled him to return to court Friday morning for his arraignment.