Elderly Couple Brutally Assaulted Behind Strip Mall on Broadway

Updated 5:08 p.m. Nov. 15.

A 20-year-old probationer was arrested Thursday on suspicion of assaulting a couple old enough to be his grandparents behind a Lemon Grove strip mall and making a failed attempt to steal their high-mileage pickup truck.

The victims, a 63-year-old man and his 70-year-old wife, were collecting scrap cardboard in the 7000 block of Broadway "to help make ends meet" when Wyatt Kirk Bradley of San Diego approached them shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to sheriff's Sgt. Greg Hampton.

Following a brief conversation during which he gave his first name, Bradley attacked the man and woman, beating them and knocking them to the ground "numerous times," according to Hampton.

Bradley then allegedly stole the keys to the couple's older-model Ford truck and tried in vain to start its engine before fleeing on foot.

Medics took the victims, who live in the Encanto area, to Sharp Memorial Hospital for treatment of head and facial cuts, bruises and other injuries. The man was released later in the day, but his wife remained hospitalized this afternoon with possible brain trauma, the sergeant said.

Based on the description of the assailant and the name he provided during the crime, sheriff's investigators identified Bradley as a possible suspect. The victims separately identified him as the alleged perpetrator upon viewing a photo of him, the sergeant said.

Detectives tracked Bradley down late this morning in the Little Italy district of San Diego, where he had been hired to pick up refuse. He surrendered without incident, Hampton said.

Bradley, a Mount Hope resident, was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of assault, robbery, elder abuse and attempted carjacking. He was being held without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Monday afternoon.

—City News Service