Unresolved “transphobic” attacks goal

Sabrina de la Peña in her hole-in-the-wall supermarket opposite the Macarthur Park of MacArthur Park has been delivering cold drinks, budget payments and friendly words for almost 30 years.

Despite problems with crime in the region, the 61 -year -old de la Peña said that she never feels threatened by a customer until last month. Over the course of two weeks, she was repeatedly attacked and harassed by an unidentified man who has now been searched by the police.

“Sure, some people come to bother me. Sometimes they have drugs or only have a bad day. But I usually ask you not to come back, and you either listen or when you come back, you will apologize,” said de la Peña. “But nobody ever hurt me as he did.”

De la Peña says that she was sexually attacked, was beaten with a skateboard and peppered in a series of incidents that the police described as a suspected hate crime.

She says the motive for the attacks is clear: it is more transgender.

“It is more than anything else a transthobic crime,” she said, mixing Spanish and English. “As long as the authorities do not stop and as long as politics stays that way, we will continue to suffer this type of attack.”

In a recent afternoon, the shopkeeper sat in the narrow quarters of her business and put on a full face face. When she moved to her eyeliner and adapted her wig, regular customers came in. Some bought packs from Newports, others came by for cans with grape deaths.

De La Peña, who emigrated from El Salvador from Elfolia and Waterfalls 35 years ago, described her shop as a place where she felt safe and always greeted them with courtesy.

On April 8, she said, a man came to “Just like any other customer”.

He bought water and started flirting with her. She remembered that he called her “pretty” and politely rejected her and said she was “not interested”. About an hour later he returned, pushed her to the ground, slapped her head and began to sexually attack her, according to a LAPD report and her own report on the incident.

He supposedly stopped when he realized that de la Peña was transgender. She remembered that he started to repeat them repeatedly and scream: “Are you af – tr – y? I will kill you.”

De la Peña said he finally fled the scene and she called the police, who arrived about two hours later.

“I thought the nightmare was over and that it wouldn't happen again,” she said.

But the next day, April 9 at 11 p.m., she said that the suspect had returned with two others.

They lured them outside of the business and started beating them with a skateboard. Video surveillance material has recorded the moment in front of the camera. You will be seen as she pulls her on the balcony and repeatedly beats it. De la Peña tried to defend herself, finally to take the skateboard and hit her.

The main struggle stayed away for a few days and came back on April 13, said de la Peña. She said she saw him on the surveillance cameras and examined the business door. He returned with others on April 16 and 19 when they attacked them with pepper spray. They splashed an unknown liquid on them and tried to use a taser that de la Peña said she had managed to avoid.

“I'm not a violent person. I am not aggressive. I am not problematic. I never thought that I needed it [things like pepper spray] Because I never cause trouble. But when they returned, [my family] Everyone thought they would kill me, ”said de la Peña.

Of the five incidents in which the attackers came to Westlake Storfront, de la Peña said that the police came three times – every hour after the perpetrators fled.

The LAPD published a press release on the incidents on April 28 Public to identify the suspects caught in front of the camera.

LAPD Rampart Division Det. Jose Hidalgo said the officials monitor the location of de la Peña and distribute crime warnings. A assembled unit also patrolled into the area, he said.

“We work hard and use all of our resources,” said Hidalgo. “We have an additional patrol and a specialized unit that works on it. We will soon catch them.”

Before the attack, de la Peña said that she would make most of her sales late at night. The shop owner who lives in the area of ​​the business said she kept her doors late into the area and then sell articles. But since the attack, she has only opened her shop out of fear during the day. She said that she is concerned about paying the monthly rent because of the loss of sales.

“My life has changed a lot. I have felt safe for almost 30 years,” said de la Peña. “Now I'm full of so many fears, so much panic. I don't think I will ever be the same again.”