Family Pleads For Help After Savage Beating Of Opa-locka Businessman
MIAMI (CBS4) - The wife and nephew of a well-known Opa-locka businessman are pleading for the public's help after he was found hog-tied and beaten inside the automotive store that he has operated for 32 years.
"He's been tied up and thrown down and left there like a dog to die," said Jorge Hernandez outside Jackson Memorial Hospital.
That's where his uncle, 76-year-old Armando Hernandez, is in critical condition after a savage beating at his business, Armando Carburetors, at 290 Ali Baba Avenue.
"It's heart breaking," Hernandez told CBS4's Peter D'Oench. "It is heart-wrenching. It was difficult to watch as he was lying there. Just to think that someone could do that to an elderly person. It is crazy."
"Right now he is clinging to life," he said. "He is a fighter. I hope he comes through this."
Hernandez said his uncle left his home at 7:30 on Thursday morning and never opened his business for the day. He said people at a business next door heard noises around 11 a.m. and called 911.
"It's a good thing they did because he could have been there for several hours," said Hernandez, who was not sure how much longer his uncle could have survived.
"My uncle's been there for 32 years and then he was down the street at a business for 10 years before that," he said.
Through a translator, Xiomara Arenciba told D'Oench she could not believe what happened to her husband.
"He's a great father. A father everybody would want," she said. "He is honest. He is special. He helps the community. He helps poor people. Any child."
Arenciba said, "I want people to come forward. I would love for someone to help us. I want police to also tell us what's going on. I never thought I would be in this position."
Opa-Locka Police said they would not know if anything had been taken from Hernandez's business until an inventory is done.
They say they have no motive at this point. And so far no surveillance tape has been found that can help them.
Anyone who can help solve this case is urged to call Opa-Locka Police or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
