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'He threw me down': 86-year-old Texas man says robbery suspects took $400 and broke his elbow

Jose Santos Hernandez said he was attacked and robbed inside his own home on July 16. Security footage caught the suspects high-fiving each other as they fled.

SAN ANTONIO — An 86-year-old man from San Antonio says it's a miracle he's alive.

Last week, he says, he was attacked and robbed in his own home. It happened off West Commerce between North General McMullen and Northwest 24th Street.

San Antonio police released surveillance video of the suspects. It shows them giving each other a high-five in celebration as they ran away.

Now, as Jose Santos Hernandez heals from his wounds, he hopes the public can help identify the duo whom he believes set him up.

Hernandez says it all started when a woman came to his door on July 16, asking for a glass of water.

The SAPD Robbery Task Force Unit needs the public's help in identifying the two robbery suspects in the video below who are seen celebrating after they just robbed an elderly individual back on July 16th, 2024, on the 4400 block of W Commerce. If you have any information on the suspects identities, please contact our Robbery Task Force Unit at 210-207-0300.

Posted by San Antonio Police Department on Wednesday, July 24, 2024

What Hernandez didn't realize was a man was also waiting outside.

"It was around 4 in the afternoon," said Hernandez. "I always see people walking out front, but I don't open the door."

Last Tuesday, he made an exception for the woman asking for water.

"I opened the door," he recalled. "I was cooking and I came back to the stove so I wouldn't burn the food. Then he scared me."

Hernandez said when he turned back toward the door, the woman was nowhere to be found.

Instead, he saw a man in his kitchen.

"When he came in, he grabbed me. He scared me. He was a big guy," said Hernandez. "I fell and I had to clean up the blood. They didn't say anything to me. He grabbed me and threw me down."

Credit: KENS
Jose Santos Hernandez, 86, shows his bandaged broken elbow.

He said when he fell, he began to bleed from his arm. Hernandez later learned he broke his elbow.

"When I fell, the man jumped on top of me and grabbed my wallet. He took out the cash," he said. "$400."

Hernandez says the woman never came inside his house. He says he had never seen either of them before.

A friend helped Hernandez call police. When officers arrived, they called him a taxi to take him to the hospital.

"I've lived here 20 years," Hernandez told us as we sat around his kitchen table. "Something like this has never happened before. Never."

Credit: SAPD
Surveillance video captures suspects giving each other a high-five after SAPD says they attacked and robbed the elderly man.

The suspects, who were wearing matching outfits, appear to be a man and a woman. The woman appears to have a blonde streak on the front, left side of her head. Security footage captured clear video of the high-fiving duo.

If you know the suspects, you are urged to call the San Antonio Police Department's Robbery Task Force Unit at (210) 207-0300.

As Hernandez's 87th birthday approaches, he remains in good spirits. With a bandage still wrapped around his right elbow, he said: "I'm looking forward to seeing whatever the Lord wishes to give me."

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