A woman accused of attacking a hot dog street vendor in LA has been arrested
Los Angeles police have arrested a 19-year-old woman accused of attacking a hot dog street vendor in downtown Los Angeles in a violent episode that was captured on video and sparked public outrage.
The police identified the suspect as Harmunie Heaven Church of Los Angeles. He was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault and is being held on $50,000 bail, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The attack, which was recorded on video and circulated on social media, led to criticism of the perpetrators and an outpouring of support for the food vendor, identified by family members as Arabelia Martinez, 62.
On June 15, LAPD officers were called to the 700 block of Figueroa Street around 4 pm to investigate reports of a battery. Police said the dispute involved a hot dog street vendor and a pedestrian.
The video of the attack shows the woman pouring something on the vendor’s food, prompting Martinez to throw what appeared to be powder at the woman, who then went around the cart and began attacking Martinez.
The video then shows the woman throwing Martinez to the ground, grabbing him by the hair and attacking him repeatedly as bystanders try to intervene and help him.
At one point, Martinez is helped up and tries to walk away but the woman continues to attack, hitting her head and face, causing Martinez to fall to the ground again.
An unidentified woman on TikTok, who goes by the username Ladydope6, posted several videos this week where she spoke off-camera while discussing the incident, suggesting she was the woman seen in the video attacking the seller.
In one video, he said he poured a Mexican condiment – chimoy – on a street vendor’s hot dogs because the vendor refused to serve him because of racism.
“When I came to him I had money, he said to me: ‘I do not serve your people,'” said the woman in the video. “So, yeah, I got my revenge. I put chimoy in his hot dogs but I didn’t do anything real to him.”
The woman said a street vendor threw a Mexican condiment – Tajin – in her face.
“That – it feels close like pepper spray, very close,” he said in the video. “Did you think I would just sit back and let him throw me Tajin?
The TikTok operator did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Martinez shared a different version of what happened. In an interview with Univision, Martinez said the woman wanted free food. He told a Spanish news channel that he was shocked by what had happened to him.
“In my life, I never thought that I would go through something so difficult,” he said to the station.
A GoFundMe page created by Martinez’s daughter to raise money for medical treatment and replacements has so far raised just over $120,000.
“My mother dedicated herself to her job every day, rain or shine, to provide for our family,” said the page. “He is one of the strongest and most loving people I know, no one deserves what happened to him, his attack not only left him physically and emotionally shaken, but also caused damage to the things he works so hard to take care of.”
