Two 13-year-olds are in custody after police say they attacked and robbed a man who was relaxing alone in a jacuzzi at a San Bernardino apartment complex.
One of the juveniles kicked the man in the head while the other took his cellphone, according to the San Bernardino Police Department. Surveillance cameras recorded the attack, and both fled.
The victim, 48-year-old Greg Medina, was left dealing with headaches and dizzy spells after the attack. He later told NBC Los Angeles that he was diagnosed with post-concussion disorder.
Then the case took a turn that police considered worth publicly recognizing: the suspects’ own parents brought them in.
Caught On Camera
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The attack happened at the Creekside Village Apartments in San Bernardino. In an original social media post, San Bernardino police described it simply as an “UNPROVOKED ATTACK.”
Police said Medina was sitting alone in the jacuzzi when two juveniles approached him from behind.
Surveillance footage shows one walking toward the jacuzzi and kicking Medina in the head. As Medina reacts to the blow, the other juvenile moves toward property beside the jacuzzi.
Police said that juvenile stole Medina’s cellphone before both ran away.
Medina told local media he had been listening through earbuds when he was hit and hadn’t considered the approaching juveniles a threat.
“I was listening to the class in earbuds and normally I don’t do that, but this day I decided to, and felt a sharp kick behind my head,” Medina said in an interview reported by local media.
The consequences lasted considerably longer than the few seconds captured by the camera.
More Than A Phone
Medina told reporters he went to an emergency room after the attack. In a later interview with NBC Los Angeles, he said he continued experiencing dizzy spells and headaches and had been diagnosed with post-concussion disorder.
Medina is a chef for Lutheran Social Services and a single father. He told reporters that he prepares food for people experiencing homelessness and is the sole provider for his daughter.
His stolen phone initially offered a possible lead. Medina tracked it to another apartment complex and contacted police, although the location wasn’t precise enough to identify a particular unit.
Police had something considerably more useful, however: surveillance footage of the attack.
The department said detectives obtained the video and identified both juveniles.
They wouldn’t have to go looking very far for them.
A Parental Decision
Both suspects were 13 years old.
Their parents turned them in to police.
San Bernardino police made a point of acknowledging that decision in the department’s announcement of the arrests.
“It takes great integrity for the parents to turn them in so that their children can take accountability for their actions,” the department said.
According to police, both juveniles were arrested for robbery. The 13-year-old accused of kicking Medina was additionally arrested on a felony battery charge.
Because both suspects are minors, police did not publicly identify them.
The arrests also produced an encounter that would have been difficult to predict from the surveillance footage.
Face To Face
Medina told NBC Los Angeles that he met with the teenagers Friday morning.
The boys apologized.
Medina said they embraced, and he told them he forgave them.
“I don’t hate them,” Medina told the station. “These are two young men that need help.”
He also credited their families for confronting what happened.
That was a notable change from Medina’s position before the suspects had been identified. While discussing the attack with reporters earlier, he had emphasized that parents needed to hold their children accountable.
In this case, the parents did exactly that.
Medina told NBC Los Angeles he understood that turning in their children couldn’t have been an easy decision, but he believed it was the correct one.
“These boys did something very serious and need to be held accountable,” he said.
Medina also said he was grateful the attack hadn’t left him more seriously injured.
The San Bernardino Police Department’s announcement similarly kept its focus on accountability, thanking the parents for bringing the two 13-year-olds to police rather than leaving detectives to find them.