Derrick Hamilton, 45
Derrick Hamilton, a 45-year-old black man, was fatally beaten Saturday, Feb. 7, in the 700 block of West Cesar E. Chavez Avenue on the border of downtown L.A. and Chinatown, according to police.
Hamilton, a transient, was panhandling outside a Burger King restaurant when he got into a fight with two other people, said LAPD Det. Patricia Hauck in an e-mail.
The two men, who had a dog with them, kicked and punched Hamilton until he fell, then continued to assault him, Hauck said. The dog also attacked Hamilton.
The fight lasted about four minutes and was captured on video. Hamilton was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Joseph Johnson, a 40-year-old white man, and Derek Miller, a 29-year-old white man, were each charged Feb. 10 with one count of murder, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
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