Fortunately for police, the attack was caught on a surveillance camera.
The victim, Richard Latane, tells Action News he was catching his breath inside Oh's Deli at 24th and Ridge when he was robbed.
In the surveillance video, you can see one suspect grab the 80 year old, pick him up and struggle to rob him of his wallet.
"He said "Get up you drunk, let's go," said Latane. "I said 'I ain't no drunk.'"
Latane, who has struggled with his health for the past few years, had just come from the bank to get some cash and money orders to pay bills.
Several other customers were inside the deli, but Latane says none came to his aid.
"I hollered 'Call the cops,' and they ran out the door," Latane said.
His wife, Fannie, is in disbelief over the crime.
"I just wonder what kind of heart they have to jack up an old man like that for few dollars," said Fannie Latane.
It turns out they got away with more than a few dollars. In fact, Latane lost $1,200 in money orders and cash.
The family believes the thugs followed Latane and he may have been set up.
"You just don't walk up to a man like that. You don't know whether he got a gun or not. They must have known they had nothing to worry about," said Fannie Latane.
The crime has taught Latane a lesson: The tough streets of Strawberry Mansion aren't what they once were, and he can't be walking them alone.
"People don't care anymore," said Fannie Latane. "I asked him not to go out by himself but I can't seem to tell him anything."
Police say they don't have any suspects.
