A homeless man has been charged with the death of an 84-year-old man with dementia who was set on fire in downtown Los Angeles.
Lavonta Martel Wilder was charged with murder on Wednesday, according to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office. He also faces a “special allegation of having a prior serious felony.”
On April 19, just before midnight, 84-year-old Bang Cho was sitting on Sixth St. between Hope St.and Grand Ave. when prosecutors say he stood up and briefly approached a passerby, then walked behind Wilder and grabbed one of the bags Wilder was carrying.
Wilder is then accused of brutally beating Cho and setting him on fire. Cho was taken to the hospital where he died.
Wilder’s bail is $2 million. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
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