44-year-old arrested for brutal attack on elderly Sikh man outside North Hollywood Gurdwara

Attack on 70 year old Sikh man in Los Angeles

Los Angeles police have arrested a homeless man in connection with the brutal assault of a 70-year-old Sikh man near a gurdwara in North Hollywood last week, ABC News reported. According to Chief Jim McDonnell, the suspect was taken into custody for allegedly carrying out the attack.

The suspect was arrested on Monday around 9:40 p.m. local time and identified as 44-year-old Bo Richard Vitagliano.

According to jail records cited in reports, he is being held on a bail amount of $1.115 million. The Los Angeles Police Department stated that the incident followed a physical altercation between Harpal Singh, the victim, and the accused.

Utilizing surveillance footage, authorities located and apprehended Vitagliano, charging him with assault with a deadly weapon. The LAPD noted he is being held on $1.2 million bail.

Chief Jim McDonnell described Vitagliano as an unhoused individual with a lengthy criminal history involving assault with a deadly weapon, drug offenses, and multiple weapons-related charges.

The assault took place on August 4 outside a Sikh gurdwara in North Hollywood. Witnesses reported seeing the two men striking each other with metal objects. Even after Harpal Singh fell to the ground, Vitagliano allegedly continued the assault before fleeing the scene on a bicycle.

Officers arrested him about a week later, less than a mile from the site of the attack.

“Witnesses advised that they did not see how the altercation began, but heard a loud commotion, then witnessed two men swinging metal objects at each other," the report quoted a press release.

“Both individuals were struck. The suspect further assaulted the victim while he was reportedly on the ground. Witnesses intervened by yelling at the suspect, at which time he rode away on his bicycle," it added.