By Post Staff

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has filed charges against James Lambert, 23, for the brutal assault last month with a knife and a metal pipe on 81-year-old Francisco Gonzalez.

Witnesses reported that on Aug. 17 Lambert stabbed the elderly man eight times in the head and proceeded to strike him with a metal pipe while he lay on the ground. The defendant is accused of launching the unprovoked attack on Gonzalez as he walked along Whitman Street in Hayward.

The assault was halted by the intervention of an off-duty security guard, and Gonzalez was rushed to Eden Medical Center, where he is currently in critical condition.

Charges brought against Lambert include Assault with a Deadly Weapon under Penal Code 245(a)(1) and Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse, Infliction of Injury under Penal Code 368(b)(1). Additionally, in accordance with a Special Directive, the District Attorney’s Office is pursuing a Great Bodily Injury charge pursuant to Penal Code 12022.7(c).

“This case presents extraordinary circumstances, a senseless and brutal attack on a vulnerable victim,” said District Attorney Pamela Price.

“We are seeking a sentencing enhancement for Great Bodily Injury. Our message is clear: anyone who commits acts of violence against vulnerable individuals in Alameda County will be held accountable,” she said.

Without the enhancement, Lambert could potentially be sentenced to a maximum of nine years in prison. With the enhancement, an additional five years could be added to the sentence.

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