Often we write our crime roundups with very little information about what actually happened. Most of the time, all we have to work on is the brief information provided in police statements. As such, crime stories remain sketchy, and victims tend to stay abstractions, unless we hear from eye witnesses or the victims themselves. One such victim, of a robbery with force that occurred over the long weekend, made sure we knew all the details.
He even sent us an x-ray of his broken bones (see above).
“It’s such a better story,” said the victim Christian DeHoyos, with a noticeable hint of pride.
We reported earlier this week, based on information from the police, that two men were attacked by three suspects. DeHoyos contacted us to let us know that the “attack” was actually perpetrated by six suspects and it involved getting sprayed with Mace and beaten with skateboards.
A Belmont resident, out with his coworker following a work-related event in the Mission, the six men in their 20s attacked DeHoyos and his companion on Mission Street. He held up his hand to protect his skull, but a blow from a skateboard broke the bones in his arm, among other injuries.
DeHoyos says he was knocked unconscious at one point, and isn’t sure what events led up to the attack. A police investigation is ongoing.
When asked how he’s recovering, DeHoyos said: “This is the cool thing, I play ice hockey, and it’s similar injuries to hockey injuries.”
Though he wishes the suspects hadn’t taken his cellphone, he was relieved to learn that funds from San Francisco’s Victim Services paid for the bulk of his medical expenses— and, also, that he lived to tell the story.
“It was like I survived a barroom brawl,” said DeHoyos.
On whether or not the experience would make him think twice about visiting the Mission, he was definitive.
“Hell no…. I love this city, and I especially love the Mission,” said DeHoyos, who explains he’s from East LA and feels at home in the neighborhood. “I hold nothing against the Mission. My only qualms are with ungentlemanly forms of fighting.”
Despite this one victim’s relatively sunny demeanor, crime is trauma and the county offers different services. Here is a link to a page of services.
Victims of violent crime can also contact the Trauma Recovery Center at UCSF.
