FOSTER CITY, Calif. (AP) -- A man allegedly hit his 81-year-old father in the head with a hammer because he wanted him to live in a nursing home, authorities said Monday.
Jayantibhai Patel, 57, who lived with his father in Foster City, attacked his dad on the erroneous belief that he needed to be hospitalized before he could be admitted into a nursing home, San Mateo prosecutors said. Patel wanted to place his father in a facility so he would be free to move to India, prosecutors said.
"He was under a belief, we don't know why, that you can't go straight into a nursing home without being in the hospital," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. "He thought, 'I can overcome that problem. I'll put him in the hospital.'"
After the Oct. 6 attack in the bathroom, the victim was unconscious for an hour and a half before Patel called paramedics, Wagstaffe said. The man has since been released from the hospital.
Patel was being held on $500,000 bail after being charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse.
Wagstaffe said the attempted murder charge likely will be dropped, but he still faces a maximum of 10 years in state prison if convicted of the other charges.
Patel's attorney, Thomas Gray, did not return calls seeking comment.
Jayantibhai Patel, 57, who lived with his father in Foster City, attacked his dad on the erroneous belief that he needed to be hospitalized before he could be admitted into a nursing home, San Mateo prosecutors said. Patel wanted to place his father in a facility so he would be free to move to India, prosecutors said.
"He was under a belief, we don't know why, that you can't go straight into a nursing home without being in the hospital," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. "He thought, 'I can overcome that problem. I'll put him in the hospital.'"
After the Oct. 6 attack in the bathroom, the victim was unconscious for an hour and a half before Patel called paramedics, Wagstaffe said. The man has since been released from the hospital.
Patel was being held on $500,000 bail after being charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse.
Wagstaffe said the attempted murder charge likely will be dropped, but he still faces a maximum of 10 years in state prison if convicted of the other charges.
Patel's attorney, Thomas Gray, did not return calls seeking comment.
