Would-be robber in wheelchair pepper sprays man in South El Monte

SOUTH EL MONTE >> A man in a wheelchair pepper sprayed another man during a failed robbery Saturday afternoon, authorities said.
The crime took place just before 5 p.m. in the parking lot of Alberto’s Mexican Food, 2740 Rosemead Blvd., Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. James Long said.
A Latino man in his 20s who was using a wheelchair approached the victim, a man in his 30s, and asked for money, Long said.
As the victim pulled money out of his pocket and counted it, the robber lunged for the cash and sprayed the victim with pepper spray, the sergeant said.
The victim managed to hang on to the money, he said. The robber fled empty-handed.
Long said the robber got into a Honda Civic, with the wheelchair, and drove off. A Latina woman was riding as a passenger.
The victim suffered no serious injuries, Long said.
It was not clear whether the would-be robber was genuinely disabled, or merely used the wheelchair as a ruse.

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