FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A 75-year-old man is recovering after police say he was severely beaten and robbed late Friday night by an intruder who entered his Fort Lauderdale apartment.
Investigators said the victim, known to many as Norm, was assaulted after stepping out to take out the trash and returning to find a man inside his apartment.
“He said, ‘Get down on your face,’ and started kicking me, slapping me, choking me, and strangling me,”' Norm told Local 10 News reporter Bridgette Matter on Sunday.
The suspect, identified by police as 48-year-old Joseph Patrick Soini, demanded money and allegedly struck Norm on the head with a trophy.
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Norm claims Soini also told him to “roll into a ball” so he could set him on fire.
Surveillance video captured Soini entering the building and later leaving the apartment with Norm’s bicycle and about $4,000 in cash, according to authorities.
Christopher Seiler, Norms neighbor, described the harrowing ordeal to Local 10 News.
”And he checked all the doors in the building, and Norm, poor Norm, was taking his trash out, left the door open, and the man was in his apartment, beat him to a pulp,” Seiler said.
Fort Lauderdale police said officers arrested Soini early Saturday morning after spotting him driving Norm’s car.
They said officers used a grappling device to stop the car, leading to Soini’s arrest.
Neighbors expressed shock over the violent incident.
”To find a neighbor beaten, can’t swallow, bleeding from the arms, the mouth — it was devastating,” Seiler said. “We live in a safe neighborhood. This shouldn’t happen.”
Another neighbor, Danilo Pinto, added, “When I came, it was the cops here. It had happened already. They looked for the guy, and the guy was in the hospital.”
Jail records show Soini is being held on a $15,000 bond at the Broward Main Jail on charges of grand theft auto and possession of cocaine as of Sunday evening.
Detectives say additional charges may follow as the investigation continues.