Man held in brutal S.F. attack

A 75yearold man was hospitalized with lifethreatening injuries following an unprovoked attack involving a metal pipe in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, authorities said Monday.

At about 9:13 a.m. Friday, officers from the Tenderloin Station were called to the 400 block of Eddy Street on a report of an aggravated assault. Police found the victim, who was not identified, unconscious and bleeding from his head.

He was treated by San Francisco Fire Department paramedics and taken to a hospital, where he remained Monday with lifethreatening injuries.

Witnesses and surveillance video led investigators to Peter Nobles, a 34yearold Oakland resident who was arrested Friday afternoon. He has since been charged with attempted murder and other crimes, according to Alex Bastian, a spokesman for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.

Investigating officers interviewed witnesses and reviewed footage to learn the suspect had attacked the victim from behind, striking first with a blow to the head that knocked the man to the ground, police said. The suspect allegedly beat the victim several more times with the metal pipe before fleeing on foot, eastbound on Eddy Street.

Officers broadcast a description of the suspect over police radio and circulated a still photo of him, which was taken from surveillance video. Nobles, who police say matched the description of the suspect, was detained by Tenderloin Station officers near McAllister and Hyde streets at about 1:39 p.m.

Investigators seized additional evidence tied to the case, including what is believed to be the pipe used in the assault, police said.

In addition to one count of attempted murder, Nobles was booked into jail on suspicion of aggravated assault, elder abuse, battery resulting in serious bodily injury, probation violation, using a deadly weapon in commission of a felony, inflicting great bodily injury causing comatose, brain injury or paralysis, and inflicting great bodily injury on a victim over the age of 70.

Nobles is scheduled for a court appearance Tuesday afternoon, where prosecutors will ask that he be held without bail, Bastian said.