Man pleads not guilty to attacking 85-year-old woman in Koreatown

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LOS ANGELES (FOX 11 / CNS) - A man accused of attacking an 85-year-old grandmother in Koreatown without provocation pleaded not guilty Friday to a felony elder abuse charge.

The charge against Richard Rene Colomo, 41, of Bell Gardens, includes allegations that Colomo caused great bodily injury to a person 70 or older and that he personally inflicted great bodily injury on Mi Reum Song attacked about 1:25 p.m. Feb. 10 as she walked to a grocery store near Olympic Boulevard and Vermont Avenue.

Song was 85 at the time but has since turned 86, according to her granddaughter.

Song was attacked without provocation, prosecutors said. She was struck in the face until she fell to the ground and lost consciousness, and "sustained significant injuries to her head and face as a result of the attack,'' according to the LAPD.

Detectives obtained security video from a local business "that showed a person of interest running from the scene shortly after the crime was committed,'' according to the LAPD, which held a Feb. 12 news conference to seek the public's help in tracking down the perpetrator.

Colomo was arrested the following day and was released from jail Feb. 15 after prosecutors asked for further investigation in the case. He was re- arrested Tuesday by Los Angeles police.

Shortly after the crime, Yujin Audrey Ko posted a graphic photo of her injured grandmother on her Facebook page, showing Song with a gash on her forehead, two black eyes swollen shut and the top of her head bandaged.

"There seemed to be no motive as he (the attacker) had no relation to her nor did he take any of her belongings,'' Ko wrote. "... Luckily, she was released and should be making a full recovery. She told me to let this go because she wants to forgive the man that did this, but I cannot and I am livid.''

Colomo -- due back at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse March 15 -- could face up to nine years in state prison if convicted, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.