Elderly man attacked and beaten in SW Houston over $18

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- An elderly man was attacked, beaten and robbed, and the crooks got away with just 18 bucks. The attack happened on Bellaire near Bintliff in southwest Houston.

They took Jose Contreras' wallet, which contained only $18 plus his Social Security and bank cards. But it's the beating he received that did much more damage. Bones on both hands broken, punched in the eye and face and has gashes that needed 36 stitches. And yet he still got on the bus and went to work.

"At my work the man say you're bleeding. And I say I'm OK, and then looked and saw the blood on my face coming down," Contreras recalled.

Perhaps more traumatized was his eight-year-old granddaughter, who loves him very much.

"There was no need for them to do it," said Giada Muller. "He had a whistle he carried for such an occasion but he didn't use it."

There was no one around to help him if he'd been able to use the whistle. Contreras went to his workplace to collect his belongings while he recovers.

Authorities are trying to find the suspects. If you have any information, you're asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.