Chula Vista police are searching for a 38-year-old man suspected of fatally attacking a 59-year-old man on a crowded dance floor at a South Bay restaurant last month, the agency announced Friday.
Investigators suspect Bernabe Bahena Rivera, 38, as the man who assaulted Jose Perez-Fong, 59, at the Papagayos Grill and Cantina on Otay Lakes Road on April 15. Perez-Fong died on April 21 after nearly a week in the ICU at Scripps Mercy Hospital.
Details about the attack or what led to the altercation were not released.
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Riviera has not yet been arrested but the investigators say they have reason to believe he has ties to Chula Vista, San Diego and Mexico.
Perez-Fong's daughter, Frances Nayar, told NBC 7 her dad was out with friends celebrating a promotion at work. Those friends told Nayar that her father was hit from behind and that he never really had a chance to defend himself. He fell to the ground after several punches, and then was kicked in the head, they told Nayar.
"This man wanted to kill my father," Nayar said.
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She said Pere-Fong loved being a grandfather to her son Jayden. They used to argue about who their father and grandfather loved more.
'I'd say, 'I'm the favorite. He'd say, 'No I'm the favorite,'" she said. "I'm saved in his phone as The Favorite."
He was excited about making more money and being able to buy his grandson gifts.
"The first thing he said is, 'I can buy my grandson anything he wants now,'" Nayar said. "He wasn't excited about what he could do for himself, he was excited for what he could do for his family."
Anyone with information about the incident or about Rivera's whereabouts can call San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 or submit an anonymous tip via P3tips.
