Man accused of trying to kill his mother with a hammer

A 27-year-old man faces a series of charges including a count of attempted murder after attacking his mother with a hammer in East Los Angeles this week, authorities said.

Gustavo Gonzalez was arrested early Wednesday after striking his 54-year-old mother several times with a hammer while she was asleep in her bed, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s East Los Angeles station.

Family members inside the home were awakened by the attack and tried to restrain Gonzalez, authorities said, and deputies responded to a “family disturbance” call at about 2:35 a.m. Wednesday in the 3700 block of Whiteside Street.

When deputies arrived, Gonzalez got into a physical confrontation with them, and multiple deputies suffered minor injuries, the Sheriff’s Department report said.

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The woman was hospitalized and was listed in grave condition. Sgt. Javier Valencia with the East L.A. station said she suffered blunt force trauma to the head and that the suspect was possibly under the influence of narcotics at the time of the attack.

In addition to the count of attempted murder, Gonzalez faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and mayhem, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Gonzalez remained in custody Friday in lieu of $1.04-million bail, according to the Sheriff’s Department’s inmate information website.

At least two other hammer attacks have been reported in the area in recent weeks, but Valencia said they were not believed to be connected to Wednesday’s attack.

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On March 25, a man walked up to an elderly man in the 1400 block of South Bonnie Beach Place in unincorporated Los Angeles and, without warning, struck him with a hammer, the sheriff’s station said in a statement. After the victim fell to the ground, his attacker kicked him and fled, authorities said.

Hours later, in the 4400 block of Triggs Street in unincorporated L.A., a woman was standing in front of a residence when a man struck her several times in the head with a hammer, leaving her unconscious.

The suspect in those cases was described as a male with a goatee, between the ages of 40 and 50. Authorities said he was about 6 feet tall, weighed between 200 and 240 pounds and was believed to have fled in a 1990s dark-colored Toyota Tacoma extended cab pickup.

Both of the victims in those attacks were hospitalized in serious condition.

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hailey.branson@latimes.com

Twitter: @haileybranson