Hanford man arrested for punching elderly man, police say

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- An elderly man is speaking out today about being attacked by his grandson's friend.

Hanford police have arrested the 20-year-old suspect for elder abuse and criminal threats.

It was a quiet Sunday afternoon, but then things got louder.

Seventy-seven-year-old James Arbuckle says it was coming from behind his house, where his grandson's friend, 20-year-old Dakota McBride was yelling and cussing.

Eventually, Arbuckle told McBride he had to leave, or he'd call police.

"Then when I told him that, he said 'Oh, you're going to call the (expletive) police on me?'" Arbuckle said. "And then he jumped at the door and said, 'No, you won't.' He said, 'I'll kill your (expletive).'"

That's when McBride assaulted him, between the house and an RV.

"All he was trying to do was get the guy to leave his residence but the other guy became angry at which time he threatened him and threw him to the ground and punched him in the face," said Hanford Police Lt. George Hernandez. "I don't think the gentleman anticipated being assaulted, he was more concerned about his grandson being assaulted."

Arbuckle used the gas meter to pull himself up.

He went inside, locked the doors and called police.

McBride was still outside with his grandson, and Arbuckle was afraid he might hurt him too.

"At my age, (if) something happens to me it doesn't mean that much. But he's 30, he's still young," Arbuckle said.

McBride ran away and Arbuckle went to the hospital, where he got stitches for a cut above his eye.

He still has pain on his left side and shoulder, especially in the morning. But he says he'd do it all over again, to protect his grandson.

"I have no fear," Arbuckle said.

Police caught up with McBride the next day, after someone spotted him at a local business.

He's being held on $210,000 bail at the Kings County Jail, facing charges of criminal threats and elder abuse.