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LA family outraged as DA Gascón's office may drop most severe charge in assault on woman, now brain-dead
By Taylor Penley
Published June 23, 2024
Relatives of a couple assaulted, allegedly by a homeless man, outside a McDonald's drive-thru in Los Angeles are enraged after learning that District Attorney George Gascón could dismiss the most serious charge against the suspect.
The attack on 74-year-old Jose Juan Rangel Hernandez and 58-year-old Maria Guadalupe Vargas Luna took place in March when the suspect punched Rangel Hernandez in the face through a car door window, according to his family.
"I feel helpless," Veronica Rangel, the victims' daughter, said Sunday on "Fox & Friends Weekend."
"We have to fight with the district attorney for them to do their job, and I told them, ‘You guys can't look at it as a number, another case to just quickly get through the courts. You have to look at it with the human touch of the damages that this man has caused our family. The worst possible scenario happened by him committing the attack that he did on my stepmother.'"
Veronica Rangel and William Cantabrana appeared on "Fox & Friends First" to discuss the situation that devastated their family. (Fox & Friends First/Screengrab)
"He's just going to walk free with no consequence because of the changes that have been brought in by Mr. Gascón," she added.
Vargas Luna, who is diabetic and partially blind, tried to assist her husband who was being beaten on the ground during the ordeal when she reportedly fell and hit her head, also suffering a heart attack en route to the hospital.
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Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon is facing a recall attempt and criticism from various sides over his criminal justice reforms. (Robyn Beck / AFP)
Los Angeles' FOX 11 reported in May that Vargas Luna faced complications from the breathing tube, which led her to require a feeding tube. She was sent home but suffered another heart attack weeks later, leaving her brain-dead.
Despite pressure from the family, Gascón's office plans to file a motion to dismiss the felony count against suspect Charles Green and keep only the misdemeanor battery charge, according to FOX 11.
"They're pretty much saying that his one-on-one altercation was just with my grandpa, and they kind of made it seem like it was her fault for getting out of the car and trying to defend my grandpa," William Cantabrana, the victims' grandson, told "Fox & Friends Weekend."
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"They made it seem like, ‘It would have been safer if she just stayed in the car.’ She got out to help him, and it's not like she got out to fight the man," he continued.
"During the scuffle, he [the suspect] bumps into her, drops her, but they're saying, ‘He never intended to push her,'" he added.
Gascón's office said in an email to FOX 11 that the "evidence does not establish proof of an intentional act that resulted in Ms. Vargas' fall."
Fox News Digital reached out to Gascón's office for additional comment but did not receive an immediate reply.
Fox News Digital's Bailee Hill contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/la-family-outraged-da-gascons-office-may-drop-most-severe-charge-assault-woman-brain-dead