The police investigation into the Sunday attack on an Honduran immigrant at Garden Acres Park is ongoing and will not be finished until all potential witnesses to the assault are interviewed, the detective overseeing the case said Thursday.
The suspect in the attack has been interviewed but there have been confusing statements from witnesses that have to be weighed, said Longmont Detective Nicholas Aiello.
“I explained to the victim I would rather have a thorough investigation than have us rushing into something,” Aiello said.
Meanwhile, community members have rallied around the victim and are nearing the halfway mark in a fundraising campaign to help Jorge Rodriguez pay medical and auto repair bills in the wake of the attack.
Rodriguez, 30, told police he was beaten by a man who yelled “Get out of our country,” according to the GoFundMe page setup to help him defray expenses.
During the assault, two white female bystanders walking in Garden Acres Park told Rodriguez to leave and stop causing problems. They told him: “This country is not your home,’” according to the GoFundMe page.
Rodriguez was hospitalized after the attack but has since been released, Aiello said.
Rodriguez is an immigrant from Honduras, and a “hardworking foreman for a construction business,” according to the GoFundMe page.
The account was set up by Joshua Stallings, a community organizer with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition and Longmont resident. Stallings is working in conjunction with a number of other community leaders who were outraged when they heard Rodriguez’s story on Univision and are now working to make sure the attack is publicized, according to the GoFundMe page.
Organizers hope to help Rodriguez pay legal fees, for repairs to his truck and any bills he cannot pay for while out of work because of his injuries.
Rodgriguez will need eye surgery because of the attack, according to the GoFundMe page.
State Representative Jonathan Singer of Longmont called the attack on Rodriguez "a really shocking case." Singer said he is also working to get funding for eye surgery for Rodriguez
Rodriguez was at the Hover Crossing liquor store drive-thru when a couple in an apple red Chevrolet Silverado behind him in line began to honk their horn and shout insults, according to the GoFundMe page.
The couple followed Rodriguez out of the parking lot and immediately cut him off, blocking him from continuing toward Tulip Street and 18th Street, near Garden Acres Park. A white man exited the truck and walked toward Rodriguez in a rage, according to the GoFundMe page.
The man pulled Rodriguez from his vehicle and began punching him in the face. The woman in the assailant’s vehicle, who was visibly pregnant, attempted to shield Rodriguez with her body while pleading with the man to stop hitting the victim, according to the GoFundMe page.
She also pleaded for herself, yelling “I’m pregnant,” but the assailant continued to beat Rodriguez and told him to “get out of our country,” according to the GoFundMe page.
Rodriguez, disoriented from the assault, drove to a friend’s house where the friend called police. He received medical attention but needs follow-up care because he lost vision and light perception in his eye, according to the GoFundMe page.
His truck also needs repair because Rodriguez had to forcefully slam on his brakes to avoid hitting the assailant’s vehicle, the page states.
So far, more than $10,000 has been raised for Rodriguez. The goal is $25,000.
