A judge on June 14 refused to set any bail for a man accused of torture in the hammer beating of Chula Vista cardiologist Dr. Hassan Kafri.
Kafri, 48, has an office in Chula Vista, and was hospitalized June 12 after his neighbor, Robert Franklin Whitaker, 57, struck him repeatedly in the head in Kafri’s garage in La Jolla.
Charges of torture and assault with a deadly weapon were filed against Whitaker, who pleaded not guilty before San Diego Superior Court Judge Joseph Brannigan.
Deputy District Attorney Matthew Greco said Kafri suffered a broken wrist, a broken nose, other facial fractures, and broken teeth in an 8-minute incident.
“It was an incredible savage beating that went on and on,” said Greco to the judge. “He presents an extreme danger, incredible danger to the community.”
The prosecutor said the incident began with a tense conversation between both men, who are neighbors, and it erupted in “a brutal beating that does not stop.”
Whitaker’s attorney, Vik Monder, told Brannigran there was “provocation from the victim” and his client was also injured and taken to the hospital.
Monder urged that reasonable bail should be set. Brannigan declined to set any bail after hearing the prosecutor’s presentation.
The judge signed a court order that bars Whitaker from contacting Kafri at home or work in the event that some bail is set later.
A preliminary hearing was set for June 27.
