Family calls for community unity
It was no doubt a long three days for the family of Roberto Flores Lopez, but by Saturday, the young man that beat the 80-year-old father and grandfather had been apprehended and taken into custody.
Flores Lopez and his wife visited their neighborhood grocery store early last week, as they did every day. Instead of shopping once a week, or once a month, the couple purchased items each day, according to their daughter Cecilia Ramirez. She said her mother liked everything to be fresh.
Unfortunately for Flores Lopez, a trip to the restroom proved to be a life changer. He was beaten and robbed in the restroom of Superior Grocers on East Avenue J. The thief made off with a few dollars and the man’s gold chain and crucifix, leaving him bloody and beaten on the bathroom floor. Luckily another man found him as he entered the restroom and called for help.
Damaris Wade was arrested on Friday, along with a woman who accompanied him to the store, Tamika White. It’s unclear if White participated in the beating.
A few folks took to social media last week to comment on a story we ran regarding the incident. Some asked why there was no outrage, protesting and marching because of the beating. Others showed support for the family and still others called for justice and for the person responsible to be arrested.
The suspect in the case is a 22-year-old Black man, but despite this fact, the family of Flores Lopez doesn’t want this to be a racial issue and has called for unity within the community.
What would possess a young man to beat an elderly man in the bathroom — or anywhere, for that matter? Ramirez said he didn’t get much money from her father’s wallet, only a few dollars, because he never carried much cash and didn’t carry credit cards.
It’s unconscionable to imagine anyone going to a grocery store and getting beaten and robbed, but apparently this is the world we now live in.
This isn’t the first time a beating has occurred over something so senseless. In January 2019, a man was punched and killed in the parking lot of Jack in the Box in Lancaster. Frank Borsotti, 61, got into an argument with Manuel Berryman, of California City, which resulted in Berryman punching Borsotti, causing him to fall and hit his head. He died about five hours after being transported to the hospital.
Flores Lopez is lucky to be alive. We hope justice is served in this case and that no other families ever have to go through anything like this.
The family of Roberto Flores Lopez is asking the community to unite, after the 80-year-old was attacked at a grocery store.