Suspect held in attack of woman as she opened West Oakland restaurant
Unhoused man accused of attacking Oakland empanada shop employee
An employee at Javi’s Cooking, an empanada shop in West Oakland, was attacked by an unhoused man who had asked her for cash earlier that day.
OAKLAND, Calif. - A suspect was arrested for allegedly attacking a woman as she opened a West Oakland restaurant on Monday morning, police said.
Man seen on video lurking in parklet before attack
What we know:
The suspect, whose name was not released, lurked in a parklet before coming up from behind and assaulting her outside Javi's Cooking at the corner of 35th and Market streets at about 8 a.m., according to surveillance video of the incident.
On the video, the two can be seen struggling. She tries kicking him. But he pushes her against the roll-up door. She manages to push him away.
The woman was taken to a hospital and released later Monday.
Shortly before the attack, the suspect had asked the woman for cash, said restaurant owner Javier Sandes.
"I think she's more psychologically damaged than physically, because she got really scared," Sandes said.
Sandes said the man had been going in and out of the restaurant.
"This individual went inside, asked her for money. She said, 'No, I'm sorry I don't have any money, I need to open up, can you please move out?' " Sandes said.
Latest in string of incidents near eatery
The backstory:
Sandes said this is just the latest incident near his restaurant, where he's had to deal with other homeless people setting up shop on the sidewalk outside or vandalizing his property, like when a big-screen TV was damaged in June, offsetting the joy of hosting big crowds at his restaurant during a World Cup watch party.
Also in June, he said a man on a bike set fire to his Dodge Ram pickup truck, angry he'd been sent to jail for pulling a knife and setting fire to his parklet months earlier.
"Every week there's always (something) that we have to deal with besides running a business," Sandes said.
Owner moved business to Oakland
The backstory:
Sandes moved his restaurant to Oakland from Hayward back in 2018, because the site already had walk-in coolers and a production kitchen. Employees makes empanadas on site from scratch, producing them for retail and wholesale.
Sandes said there have not been enough police to show up in a timely manner and that his complaints to city officials in the past have gone nowhere.
Customers said they were concerned.
"He's got a good location, but also you know you're right by the freeway underpass and there's just a lot of homeless activity around this area," said a man who wished only to be identified as Ivan.
Another customer, Analisa Haidinger said, "I live in the area and luckily I haven't had to experience any of that, and yeah, it's disheartening but I know there's a lot of people who need help that are on the streets."
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on X @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan
The Source: The information from this story comes from KTVU reporter Henry Lee and the Oakland Police Department.