A 24-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with elder abuse after authorities say he punched a 78-year-old grandfather over free Nutella waffle samples at a supermarket in Burbank, California.
Prosecutors say Derrick Gharabighi, of Burbank, was charged yesterday. He pleaded not guilty in an afternoon court appearance.
According to the alleged victim, Sahak Sahakian, Gharabighi was hoarding free samples of the waffles at the Costco – a low-cost supermarket where shoppers buy products in bulk – 14 miles from Los Angeles.
He told local news station CBS Los Angeles:
He takes two, three of them. Left one. I want to take that one, he catches my hand, I say ‘What are you doing?’
The LA County District Attorney’s office says Gharabighi then punched Sahakian above his left eye, causing bleeding and bruising.
Police say the grandfather was hospitalised with a one-inch cut and swelling above his eye.
Gharabighi is being held on $50,000 bail, and he faces a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison if convicted of elder abuse, and a second charge of inflicting “great bodily injury” on a person aged over 70.
Contains reporting by the Associated Press.
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