A man was arrested Wednesday in connection with the caught-on-camera assault of a 23-year-old woman working behind the counter at a Lakewood gas station.
Kendrick Ruth, 35, was found and arrested as he left a Long Beach motel, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lakewood Station officials said in a news release.
Surveillance footage from the gas station shows the Long Beach resident allegedly punching Yadira Lara, 23, in the face on Sept. 7 over a cigar that cost less than $2.
Authorities said Ruth tried to pay for the $1.41 Swisher Sweet cigar with only a $1 bill.
When Lara refused to give him the cigar, Ruth allegedly punched her between her eyes and left with the cigar in his pocket, officials said.
"I just blacked out for a while, just looking for my glasses," Lara told NBC4 Sept. 28, after authorities released details of the attack and asked for the public's help to find the suspect.
"I just wish I just could've given it to him and none of this would have happened."
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The punch re-injured a childhood injury, leaving Lara with permanent eye damage that could cause her to lose sight completely in her left eye.
Ruth was booked for robbery and assault , and his bail set at $100,000, the Lakewood Sheriff’s Department said in a press release.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.
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