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Battered RVA Street Art Festival guard recovers as police scrutinize surveillance video

Posted at 10:34 PM, Dec 05, 2013
and last updated 2013-12-06 08:12:47-05

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) -- A couple of weeks has made a huge difference in the recovery of 66-year-old Jack Newsom. He looks a whole lot better than he did last month.

"I go to the doctor tomorrow to get checked out again," Newsom said.

Newsom, a security guard at the RVA Street Art Festival, was attacked and severely beaten as he was making his nightly rounds at the old GRTC bus depot November 23rd.

"I don't think he saw it coming," said Richmond Detective Joseph Fultz. "[But] we know some people in that community saw something because of evidence we've collected. We need those people to come forward."

Richmond police were making their rounds Thursday night. Fultz says they're analyzing security footage and close to releasing it so the public can help identify the man they think is involved.

There are cameras all around the bus depot and police say they've been searching every angle for clues.

Asked if he thought Newsom could be the victim of “knock-out,” a game some say is spreading virally via the internet, Fultz said he didn’t think so. “There's no evidence to suggest that he's a victim of this game," he said.

Police say they're treating this case more like a robbery. Newsom says the man who stomped him stole his wallet and 60 bucks. "I just hope they catch whoever did it,” he said.

For a man who was there to provide security, his own security is shaken. But even though he said he wouldn't go back to work, time is helping to change his heart.

"I might go back after the first part of the year, I guess," Newsom said.