Man charged in homeless beating

Yoandri Alba charged with aggravated battery

MIAMI – A man admitted to beating a homeless man because he was saying things to him in English that the suspect didn't understand, police say.

Yoandri Alba is charged with aggravated battery.

The incident happened at a gas station at 999 W. Flagler Street about 11:31 p.m. Wednesday.

According to an arrest affidavit, a witness saw Alba, 30, talking to the homeless man sitting outside the gas station.

The witness told police he then saw Alba take the homeless man's cane and begin beating him with it.

Alba continued hitting the homeless man with the cane until it broke, police say. He then kicked the homeless man and and stomped on his head.

According to the report, Alba told police: "The guy was talking and saying things to me in English I didn't understand. He went to get up and I grabbed his cane and hit him a few times with it."

"A couple of times, (the homeless man) he's asked me for money," said Enrique Mendez. "If I have money, I give him a couple of dollars, but he gets aggressive sometimes."

"That's ridiculous," said Sergio Lazo. "For that to happen in our neighborhood is out of hand."

The homeless man is listed in critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital.