A 65-year-old Oakland laundromat employee says she was afraid to return to work after being assaulted by two customers in an incident that was caught on camera.
Surveillance footage shows two relatively young women physically harassing, intimidating and ultimately attacking the elderly woman for the better part of ten minutes.
Ruth ‘Ruthie’ Wilde said the attack was the longest eight-minute period of her life.
She said CBS Bay Area that he was “very afraid” during the attack and still is, especially now that the two have been released and may end up having misdemeanor charges (filed against only one of them) dropped.
The terrifying encounter occurred on March 16, shortly after 7:00 p.m., when there were still customers inside the local business.
Wilde said he informed his two attackers that the last laundry cycle of the day began at 6:30 p.m. and that the laundromat, Woody’s Laundromat, closes at 8:00 p.m.
He pointed to a sign on the wall of the business that clearly displayed the business hours.
The images showed that the two women left the business with their clothes and left in a car.
The couple, however, returned about 40 minutes later, around 7:40 p.m.
They told Wilde that her clothes had gone missing from a washing machine and asked her to watch surveillance videos to see who left with her clothes.
Wilde repeatedly said he did not have his clothes and did not have access to the company’s surveillance cameras.
Surveillance footage then showed a woman in a black hat grabbing Wilde by the neck, dragging her and pushing her to the ground several times.
Wilde was also hit at least three times during the assault.
The other woman, wearing a red hat and yellow shirt, was then shown pushing Wilde to the ground.
“They hit me again and so hard that my nose bled. “I saw stars and lights because they hit me so hard,” Wilde told CBS.
The images showed the two attackers threatening to hurt several of the clients who participated in the attack.
Ruthie Wilde, 65, was attacked at the Oakland laundry room where she worked for 27 years.
Robert Ma (left), said the attack that took place against his employee should be considered elder abuse.
Woody’s Laundromat and Coffee Shop in Oakland, California, was terrorized last weekend by two attackers who victimized an elderly woman.
Wilde said he was “afraid I would be killed or hit on the head with the dryer.”
After the attack, Wilde called 911 and officers responded.
Both women were detained and released, although Oakland officers told CBS they cited the woman in the black hat.
They declined to release the suspect’s name. The woman summoned will have to appear before a judge at a later date.
Wilde worries, however, that the attacker will get away with simply paying a fine or having his case dismissed.
Wilde said she is furious “at the system.”
“It’s a minor crime and they can’t do anything about it,” he said.
A week after the attack, Wilde said his mouth still hurts.
One of the laundromat’s owners, Robert Ma, said disapprovingly that the type of assault his employee experienced is “considered a misdemeanor.”
He said the violent incident should be considered a case of elder abuse.
Both women were detained and released, although Oakland officers said they only cited the woman in the black hat (pictured).
There was a sign on the wall of the business that clearly showed the business hours that Wilde showed his attackers.
The elder Wilde weighs only 88 pounds; She has worked at Woody’s for nearly three decades.
Everyone knows Ruthie. They love Ruthie. Nobody ever had any problem with her. She is super nice. Our regulars love her,” Mom said.
But he has not returned to work since the attack. “I’m afraid they’ll come back and kill me.”