LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A 74-year-old man is recovering after he was beaten with a skateboard at a bus stop in downtown Las Vegas, police say.
David Ordaz-Loera was arrested on Feb. 13 and faces a felony battery charge connected to the incident, which happened between Bonneville and Garces avenues, near Casino Center Boulevard.
According to the arrest report, a security officer told police he saw Ordaz-Loera swinging a skateboard like a "baseball bat" and repeatedly hitting the unnamed elderly man.
After receiving at least four hits to the face and head, the man was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground, he told police.
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The report says that the security officer, who was wearing a uniform at the time, attempted to put handcuffs on Ordaz-Loera, but he resisted and went into a "fighting stance." It goes on to say, the officer used pepper spray on Ordaz-Loera and was able to handcuff him and call 9-1-1.
When a responding officer asked Ordaz-Loera what happened, the report says he told police that the elderly man spit in his face while saying "motherf-----."
He then told police that he became enraged and hit the elderly man 7-8 times because the spit went into his mouth and he could "get herpes," the report states.
Ordaz-Loera told police he "probably went overboard," but insisted the elderly man was the instigator, according to the report.
Police spoke to the elderly man while he was recovering at UMC Trauma, the report says. He told police that he has a hard time seeing due to his old age and that he was exiting the bus when he heard Ordaz-Loera say, "What the f--- are you looking at?"
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He said tried to figure out who was talking to him and then he was hit in the face with a skateboard.
RTC’s Director of Transit Amenities and Technical Equipment Carl Scarbrough said the company has taken many steps to keep bus riders safe. One tool riders can use is the RTC app, where they can make reports of incidents happening on buses, rather than confront someone face-to-face.
“The last thing we want is people to get involved when something like this is going on but use the app and report it to us and we have people who are watching that and they can alert police or security and respond accordingly,” said Scarbrough.
He said all buses also have cameras, some as many twelve, which police can watch live if there is an active incident happening. The video can also help catch anyone who causes problems on a bus. He said RTC is also in the process of updating the cameras thanks to a $7.5 million federal grant awarded in November of 2020.
Ordaz-Loera is due in court on March 5 for a preliminary hearing.
