Disabled Houma man's mother pleads for public's help identifying attackers

HOUMA, La. - On Thursday, police had no leads on the men who beat up and robbed a disabled 26-year-old Houma man.

The victim's mother said she wants everybody to watch the surveillance video of the attack to see if anyone recognizes the two men caught on camera.

"Somebody knows who these people are," she said. "Somebody knows that truck. When I seen my son laying there, I knew it was my son. Somebody out there knows this truck and knows these people."

Since the attack Tuesday, the victim, who asked that we not use his name, has had an outpouring of community support.

The victim's mother said parts of the attack were so brutal, she has to turn away from the footage.

"Them just continuously hitting him in the face over and over," she said. "They need to pick on somebody who can defend themselves. That's just cowardly, totally cowardly. Let them come find the mama. They might not get it so easy."

The footage shows the victim being punched repeatedly before one of the attackers pulls out a weapon.

"The short one ran up to me as soon as I hit the ground and tazered me to the back of my neck, and he kept telling me to stay down, stay down," the victim said. "And I didn't try to get back up. I didn't try to fight."

A final blow him so hard his head slammed into the pavement, leaving him in a pool of blood.

"This is a heinous act," said Houma Police Department Chief of Detectives Dana Coleman.

Police are working overtime to find the attackers and to field the flood of calls from people wanting to help. They're donating money to increase the Crimestoppers reward, and they're offering to buy the victim bicycles so he won't have to walk everywhere anymore.

"My heart goes out to this young man. Just in speaking to him, I can feel his pain. I mean, it goes deep," Coleman said.

The victim told police he was on the final leg of a three-hour walk back from his grandfathers house when the attack happened on Acadian Drive near Glynn Avenue. Police said the spot was lucky because the closest house is one of the only ones in the area with surveillance cameras.

Ron Zeringue's cameras caught the attack, but he knew something terrible had happened before he ever saw the footage.

"When I was bringing the kids to school in the morning, when I turned to close the door, I saw blood on the doorbell blood on the door from where he tried to knock, but I never heard the knock on the door," Zeringue said.

Zeringue offered to buy the victim a new cell phone to replace the one stolen from him right outside Zeringue's home.

"I feel bad. I wish I could have at least heard the door where I could have called an ambulance to help him," said Zeringue.

The victim's mother said the best way to help him will be for someone to recognize the attackers and call the police.

"If somebody can't do that knowing what they did, then they're just as much involved as they are. Somebody knows these people," said the victim's mother.

The Bayou Region Crimestoppers reward starts at $1,000, but police expect it to be higher once they tally up the donations.

If you recognize the attackers, call Bayou Crimestoppers at (800) 743-7433 or the Houma Police Department.