PASADENA >> A would-be robber attacked a man along Fair Oaks Avenue before a good Samaritan intervened and fought the attacker off Saturday, police said.
Jaime Medina Ruiz, 28, of Pasadena was booked on suspicion of attempted robbery following the incident, which unfolded just after 7 p.m. along Fair Oaks Avenue, just south of Del Mar Boulevard, according to Pasadena police officials and Los Angeles County booking records. He was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail pending his initial court appearance.
Ruiz confronted the victim, a 24-year-old Pasadena man, and demanded money, Pasadena police Lt. John Luna said.
“When the victim told him he had nothing to give him, the suspect punched him in the face,” he said.
But a 27-year-old Pasadena man who witnessed the crime rushed to help the victim, Luna said.
“He fought with and attempted to restrain the suspect,” Luna said. The failed robber managed to flee.
Police, aided by officers hovering overhead in a helicopter, soon found and arrested Ruiz in connection with the crime, Luna said.