Los Angeles police have arrested a 30-year-old man in connection with a series of brutal assaults on Sabrina De La Pena, a 61-year-old transgender businesswoman who has operated her convenience store across from MacArthur Park for nearly three decades. The attacks, which began in early April and have left De La Pena with serious injuries, are being investigated as possible hate crimes.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Samuel Parros was taken into custody on May 27 and booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. However, two other suspects remain at large and are believed to be responsible for the most recent attack on De La Pena, which occurred after Parros’s arrest.
De La Pena described the relentless violence she has endured in a harrowing interview with CBS News Los Angeles. “They punched me. They kicked me. I tried to go outside, they pushed me inside,” she said. “I received more than 50 punches. After that, I started screaming, and when nobody was coming, I said OK and asked God why?”
The violent ordeal began on April 8, when one of the suspects allegedly tried to flirt with De La Pena. After she rejected his advances, the man reportedly discovered she was transgender and threatened to kill her. The next night, the man returned with two accomplices, and together they beat De La Pena inside her shop. Surveillance footage captured the trio punching her repeatedly and striking her with a skateboard.
The violence did not stop there. On April 16, De La Pena was pepper-sprayed by the same group. Three days later, on April 19, one of the men threw an unknown liquid on her while another attempted to use a taser.
Despite the arrest of Parros, De La Pena was attacked again at her store on Saturday, further underscoring the ongoing threat she faces. The LAPD has released images of the two remaining suspects and is urging anyone with information to come forward.
“These attacks are horrifying,” said a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department’s Rampart Division. “We are treating this case with the utmost seriousness. Anyone who has information or who may have been a victim of similar incidents should not hesitate to contact us.”
The repeated assaults have left De La Pena shaken but resolute. Her story is a stark reminder of the violence that transgender people, particularly transgender women of color and older transgender individuals, continue to face every day.
TransVitae.com had previously reported on these attacks as part of a broader investigation into hate crimes targeting transgender people in Los Angeles. As authorities search for the remaining suspects, the community is rallying around De La Pena, offering support and demanding justice.
Anyone with information about these attacks is urged to contact the LAPD’s Rampart Division detectives at (213) 484-3495 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477. The community’s solidarity and vigilance remain vital in the pursuit of justice for Sabrina De La Pena and all transgender people who face targeted violence.
For the original report and additional updates, visit TransVitae.com’s previous coverage at: LAPD Investigates Separate Hate Crimes Against Trans Women
