Man accused of beating California woman to death with scooter may have tried to set fire to family home in Louisiana earlier this year
A man suspected of beating a 63-year-old woman to death with an electric scooter in Long Beach this week apparently had legal troubles in Louisiana earlier this year, records show.
Amad Rashad Redding, 27, identified by police as a transient living in Long Beach, was charged with the murder of Elena Rosa Hernandez and made a court appearance Wednesday, but did not enter a plea, according to a courtroom clerk.
He was scheduled to enter a plea to the charges on May 29, the clerk said. He was ordered to remain jailed on $2 million bail.
He faces a possible maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted as charged.
About 12:30 p.m. Monday, Redding allegedly assaulted the victim as she walked in the 3100 block of 64th Street. Redding allegedly knocked her on the ground and began kicking her and stomping on her head, prosecutors said.
He then allegedly grabbed an electric scooter and hit her repeatedly, prosecutors said.
Redding was arrested about 5 p.m. at a convenience store in the area of Downey Avenue and Artesia Boulevard, a few blocks from the scene of the attack, police said.
Earlier this year, a man with the same name and birth date was arrested by the State Fire Marshal’s Office in Louisiana for allegedly setting fire to his family’s home in January, the agency’s public affairs director Ashley Rodrique said.
Shaunna Dandoy, a spokewsoman for the Long Beach Police Department, confirmed Redding previously was arrested in Louisiana.
State fire marshal’s deputies were sent to a home on Jan. 21 to investigate the origin and cause of a fire at a home where Redding was the sole occupant at the time of the blaze, Rodrique said. He suffered third-degree burns to his hands and the fire caused exposure damage to a building next door.
Redding was arrested Feb. 6 after investigators determined the area of origin was the home’s dining room. Deputies also learned through witness statements that Redding admitted to setting the fire and that he had made threats to relatives about setting the home on fire, Rodrique said.
He was booked into jail on two counts of simple arson and then later transferred to a mental health facility in New Orleans, but was released back into custody that same day, Rodrique said.
Officials could not be immediately reached to provide Redding’s release date or why he was released.