A 79-year-old South Carolin man was arrested Monday after he allegedly chased down a hospice care worker on the street and beat her in front of the home where she was working.
John Rosso allegedly shouted at Jasmine Thomas, 25, telling her “You don’t belong here!” calling her a b****, and telling her to “shut up,” WRDW reported.
Aiken police officers answered the call and found Thomas with swelling on her face. She told police that she had turned onto Bellreive Drive, where her patient lives, passing Rosso as he spoke with someone on the street. Thomas told the officers that Rosso jumped into his car and chased her down at a very high rate of speed.
Thomas said she turned into the driveway where her patient lives, and Rosso raced over to her driver’s side door and began banging on the window so hard that she thought it would shatter. Thomas rolled her window down to see what was the matter, and Rosso punched her in the face, the police report says.
The hospice worker said she tried to get out of the car, but Rosso slammed the door on her. She crawled over the console and got out the passenger door, heading for the front door of her patient’s home. But Rosso chased her down and punched her in the face again.
“You don’t belong here!” he said.
The homeowner came outside at that point and separated Rosso and Thomas. He told police that Thomas had been working for his family for quite some time and that he believes the attack on her was “provoked by racism.”
According to the incident report, Thomas recorded the incident on her phone, and the homeowner’s doorbell camera captured it as well.
Rosso was charged with assault and battery and given a bond of j$1,087.50.
