L.A. woman accused of beating a 91-year-old man with a brick pleads no contest

A woman accused of beating an elderly man with a brick in Willowbrook pleaded no contest Thursday to charges of elder abuse and infliction of injury as part of a plea deal, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said.

Laquisha Jones, 30, of Los Angeles, used a brick in the attack that left a 91-year-old man unconscious on the sidewalk, his face bloodied and bruised, prosecutors said. Jones had been charged with attempted murder, but those charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement. She faces 15 years in prison.

Rodolfo Rodriguez went out for his daily walk on a July evening when he came across a woman and girl on the sidewalk, his family said in a GoFundMe page. Family members told KTLA the woman confronted Rodriguez after he bumped into the little girl.

Rodriguez then was struck from behind, and “as he fell on the ground, he blacked out,” Los Angeles County sheriff’s Det. Matt Luna said.

Neighbors and family members also reported seeing a group of men join Jones in the attack. He was taken to a hospital with a broken cheekbone, his family said.

Following the attack, police searched for multiple suspects and arrested Jones on July 10. It is unclear whether any other people were connected with the crime.

Misbel Borjas, who lives near Rodriguez, was passing by in a car when she saw Rodriguez walking and trying to pass the woman and child. Then, Borjas said, she saw the woman push Rodriguez and start to hit him.

“She was yelling at him, ‘Go back to your country,’ or ‘Go back to Mexico,’ ” Borjas told The Times in July. “It was racist.”

Jones is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 28.

alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

Twitter: @r_valejandra