Investigators said two customers got out of a cab and started beating up the driver, first with punches to his body and head and eventually with kicks while he's on the ground. The driver, Jorge Arvizu, tried to escape, but the two held him down and continued with the punches.
Arvizu said he still has bruises 10 days after the attack. He said he first picked up the couple around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 27, near Leonardo's Night Club in Huntington Park.
The couple asked to go to downtown Los Angeles. Arvizu believed the woman was clearly intoxicated. He said she continually hurled expletives at him.
At one point, it appears she tried to kick through the partition. Arvizu pulled over and asked them to get out at Gage Avenue and Alameda Street.
Arvizu said that's when the couple started the beat-down that caused him to lose teeth, suffer severe bruising and possibly head trauma.
Police are asking for the public's help to identify the couple in the surveillance video. The first suspect was described as a Hispanic man, standing about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing about 160 pounds. He had a mustache and was wearing a cowboy hat.
The second suspect was a Hispanic woman with long brown hair, standing about 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing about 170 pounds. Both are possibly in their early 30s.
"They have to go to jail. I want to be OK and go back to work," said Arvizu.
Arvizu said it will be several weeks before he's healthy enough to work again and he's not sure if he'll suffer lasting damages.
Anyone with information was asked to call Los Angeles Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.
