A retired teacher was surrounded by six men outside a paint store on La Brea Avenue in Hollywood, beaten to the ground and robbed in broad daylight, leaving him with a brain bleed and multiple injuries. Fouad Mahassine had been drinking coffee at a nearby strip mall when the group closed in around him and one of the men demanded cash.
Attack Escalated After Mahassine Said He Had No Money
According to NBC Los Angeles, Mahassine told the men he did not have any money, and one of the attackers responded by hitting him in the head. Once he fell to the ground, the group continued to attack him, kicking him repeatedly as he lay on the pavement, the station reports.
The assailants made off with Mahassine’s wallet, his phone, and his hearing aid, which cost $400, per the same account. A man in a nearby parked car saw the attack and called police, and Mahassine was rushed to an emergency room, where he was found to have suffered a brain bleed along with multiple other injuries.
Family Left Shaken, Searching for Answers
Mahassine’s son, Zachary Mahassine, told the station the assault left the family shaken, and that in its immediate aftermath he did not know whether his father was conscious or where he had been taken. Police are searching for the attackers, though NBC Los Angeles notes that a detailed description of the suspects was not immediately available.
What the Attackers Could Face Under California Law
Even though a hearing aid worth $400 would typically fall under California’s Proposition 47 threshold for low-level theft, the use of physical force during the robbery changes the legal picture entirely. Under California Penal Code Section 211, taking personal property through force or fear is second-degree felony robbery carrying two, three, or five years in state prison, regardless of the value of what was stolen, since the $950 threshold applies only to nonviolent property theft.
Mahassine’s injuries could also expose his attackers to additional prison enhancements. Under California Penal Code Section 12022.7, personally inflicting great bodily injury — defined as significant or substantial physical injury — during a felony adds three to six more years of consecutive prison time on top of the underlying robbery sentence…