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CORPUS CHRISTI - Judge Bobby Galvan has reduced bond for Victor Perez from $200,000 to $50,000 on an aggravated assault charge related to an incident that was caught on tape in downtown Corpus Chri… Click to Read More and see additional updates

CORPUS CHRISTI - Judge Bobby Galvan has reduced bond for Victor Perez from $200,000 to $50,000 on an aggravated assault charge related to an incident that was caught on tape in downtown Corpus Christi earlier this month.

Perez's family argued they do not have the ability to raise the required 10% or $20,000 to get him out of jail. As a result of today's decision, they'll have to raise $5,000 to secure his release.

The judge's decision angered the victim's family members who felt that Perez's financial status should not have played a role in the decision.

Perez is accused of assaulting Erik Schwirtlich in downtown Corpus Christi just after midnight on December 1st. Surveillance video from a shop shows Schwirtlich being bumped by one of two men who walked by him near the intersection of Starr and North Chaparral Street.

He was talking on the phone at the time, but hung up as he turned around to confront the two men. Swirtlich never raised his arms as one of the suspects punched Schwirtlich in the face and left him unconscious on the sidewalk.

He's currently undergoing treatment for a fractured skull and jaw.

Perez was picked up by Corpus Christi police on Friday after they interviewed his brother.

CORPUS CHRISTI -- Erik Schwertlich, the man brutally attacked on a downtown sidewalk last Saturday, has contracted a fever and was scheduled to get a CAT scan Friday after doctors had concerns about paralysis in part of his brain, according to family members.

Schwertlich, 25, has been hospitalized in intensive care at Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital where he is being treated for a skull fracture and damage to the part of his brain that controls speech.

Schwertlich was knocked unconscious after he was punched in the face. The punch caused him to fall to the ground where he hit his head on the concrete sidewalk. U.S. Marshals arrested Victor Perez, 23, Wednesday and charged him with Aggravated Assault.

When Schwertlich is released from the hospital, he is expected to be transfered to a rehabilitation center in Houston.

CORPUS CHRISTI - Erik Schwirtlich, the victim of a brutal assault is still unable to walk or talk properly. But it turns out this is not the first time the Schwirtlich family has had to deal with tragedy.

Today we spoke with Erik's father, Don Schwirtlich and found out just what his family has been through over the years.

Don says, "This morning when I saw him he said, hi dad, and reached out to hug me and stuff. So he obviously recognized me."

And while that is great progress, there are still some days Erik doesn't recognize his own father.

That's after Erik was punched in the face while walking downtown last Saturday. That punch knocked him unconscious. Almost a week later he is still in the ICU having trouble walking and talking.

But Don tells us this isn't the first tragedy he has had to deal with, "They say that God adjusts the load to the shoulder, and I want to ask God to do a re-check on his measurements because I'm not real sure anymore."

8 years ago, when Don's daughter Lauren was only 14, she was raped.

Then two years ago Don was told his wife, Christina, wasn't going to survive a complicated heart disease.

Don says, "I remember waking up every morning thinking oh my God what a nightmare that was. And then you go, geez, that wasn't a nightmare, that was real."

Christina lived, but medical bills but the Schwirtlich family in bankruptcy. And even that wasn't the end of the families troubles. Don tells us, "7 days after I got the news about my wife, the business I had been helping to build for a couple of years collapsed."

Still trying to pay off old medical bills, Erik's condition brings on a whole set of new one's and now family and friends are helping the Schwirtlich's in this time of need.

Erik's cousin created the website www.giveforward.com/Schwirtlichlove. Anyone who wants to donate money to the family just clicks where it says ' Give Now.'

The website has already raised over $2,000 and has given Don hope, "You look at what one person did it's like you want to say what's this world coming to and then you see all of this and you don't loose hope."

Friends and family are not stopping at just the website. Next Thursday Club Aria will donate all cover charges to the family.

Next Saturday there will be a BBQ at Office Club. $8 for a plate of food, and again all proceeds will go towards Erik's medical bills.

CORPUS CHRISTI - Competing Facebook pages have popped up today over the arrest of Victor Perez for the alleged assault of a man in downtown Corpus Christi last week.

The first page, titled Free Victor Perez, was set up by his brother to "show support for a friend/family member."

A lively, if not nasty debate, on the page sparked dozens of comments, threats to shut down the page, and even a rival page called Don't Free Victor Perez.

According to police, Perez is the man seen in security from a store on the corner of Starr and Chaparral Streets that shows a man being bumped into, then knocked unconscious in an altercation that lasted less than 40 seconds.

The victim, Erik Schwirtlich, suffered a broken jaw and fractured skull as a result. His family says he does not remember much of that night and it will take some time for him to recover fully.

The family has set up a support/donation website to help the family with the expenses related to Erik's hospitalization - www.giveforward.com/schwirtlichlove

Perez was arrested Wednesday on a charge of aggravated assault. He's being held on a $200,000 bond in the Nueces County jail. We understand his brother was questioned before the arrest.

CORPUS CHRISTI -- The father and brother of the man hospitalized after being punched on a downtown sidewalk early Saturday are speaking out for the first time since the suspect was arrested.

U.S. Marshals arrested Victor Perez, 23, after they pulled him over Wednesday afternoon for a traffic violation. Perez did not comment as he was brought into the City Detention Center for processing.

Erik Schwirtlich, 25, is still in intensive care where he is being treated for a skull fracture and a brain injury. His father, Don, said his son has seen the surveillance video that captured his attack which is helping him remember.

Schwirtlich's brother, Brad, said his brother said, "Good," when he was told that authorities arrested the man accused of assaulting him. "I think he understands and acknowledges it. I'm not 100 percent confident that he really comprehends a.) what's happened to him, and b.) that this guy's been caught."

Perez is charged with Aggravated Assault. He is being held at the Nueces County Jail on $200,000 bond.

CORPUS CHIRSTI - Victor Perez taken into police custody for the alleged assault of Erik Schwirtlich that was caught on tape by a business in downtown Corpus Christi.

An arrest warrant was issued for Perez this morning. He was arrested just after 3:30 this afternoon. Perez had no comment as he was being led into the City Detention Center.

His brother, Anthony, who was also wanted by police, was questioned this morning.

CORPUS CHRISTI - Police have arrested 23-year-old Victor Pedro Perez as a suspect in the alleged assault of a man in downtown Corpus Christi on Friday evening. Perez is charged with aggravated assault and is being held on a $200,000 bond.

Investigators say tips from social media helped identify the man accused of knocking out Erik Schwirtlich and leaving him on the pavement.

Surveillance video from the area of N. Chaparral and Starr Street shows a man intentionally bump into the victim as he was walking down the street while talking on a cell phone.

Schwirtlich got off the phone as he talked to the suspects for less than 30 seconds. One of the suspects, seen wearing a grey polo style shirt, tried to keep the other man from starting a fight, but the suspect in a black and yellow shirt punched Schwirtlich twice.

He was already unconscious as he fell to the ground and hit his head on the sidewalk. An employee from a neighboring tattoo parlor came to his aid. The suspects just walked down the street.

Erik's father says his son suffered a broken jaw and skull fracture in the assault. He's able to get up and about with the assistance of a walker in the hospital. He says his son was just heading out to a bar right around the corner when he was assaulted.

CORPUS CHRISTI -- Police are searching for the person who brutally assaulted a 25-year-old Corpus Christi man downtown on Friday night.

The attack was caught on surveillance video.

Business owners we talked to say this kind of stuff happens often here.

But they say violence is escalating and on Friday night there was another fight.

Matthew Rosas said, "The next day there was another fight between two homeless people and there's a lot of blood out there right now."

Downtown business owners and employees say blood trails are becoming more and more popular in this area and it's certainly not giving the downtown area a good reputation.

Business Owner Jeff Howard said, "i've been here for over ten years now, nothing has changed. It's all the same. we've had busted windows to fights and somebody getting hurt."

Most business owners also say they have all the protection they need like cameras and alarms but say those measures still don't deter the drunks and homeless from causing problems.

Police, however, say they will start a more aggressive campaign this weekend.

They're still working out all the details but plan to be more visible to the public and criminals.

If you would like to follow Melissa Schroeder on Facebook, "friend" her here.

CORPUS CHRISTI -- Surveillance cameras from a nearby downtown business caught an attack on video this past Friday night at the intersection fo Starr and North Chaparral. In the video you can see a man in a black shirt and white hat bump into the victim.

The victim then turns around to talk to the guy and what happens next is chilling. The two talk for a bit and it appears the suspect's buddy tries to prevent the assault.

But, the suspect swings at the victim, who family members identify as, 25-year-old Erik Schwirtlich. He goes down hard on the sidewalk, slamming his head on the concrete, not moving as the two men just walk away.

An employee at a nearby tattoo parlor ran to see what happened. Matthew Rosas said, "I just heard somebody hit the ground and looked over and he was laying there. I ran over there to help him out."

Rosas says his sister-in-law ran out of the shop with him. She tried to revive the victim, who wasn't breathing, and it seemed to help.

Rosas said, "He finally took a little bit of breath and started breathing, but he was still unresponsive."

Rosas screamed for someone to call 911 as he took a closer look at the man lying - near death - in front of him. He called the experience "rough."

He said, "I checked the back of his head because I did see blood and he did have a pretty big knot and his ears started bleeding before the cops showed up."

Emergency crews rushed Schwirtlich to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Today, family members say he's in critical condition, using a walker. He can't really talk right now, but he is expected to survive.

Police say the suspect is a hispanic man 22 to 28 years old, 5'6" to 5'7" tall, weighing 150 to 180 pounds. Call CrimeStoppers at 888-TIPS if you can identify him.

If you would like to follow Melissa Schroeder on Facebook, "friend" her here.

CORPUS CHRISTI - Investigators with the Corpus Christi Police Department are looking for two men involved in an assault that left a 25-year-old man with life threatening injuries just before midnight on Friday.

A friend of Erik Schwirtlich's family says the 25-year-old suffered a broken jaw and a fractured skull in the assault. He's currently in and out of consciousness and remains in intensive care at an area hospital.

Surveillance video from the area of N. Chaparral and Starr Street shows a man intentionally bump into the victim as he was walking down the street while talking on a cell phone.

Schwirtlich got off the phone as he talked to the suspects for less than 30 seconds. One of the suspects, seen wearing a grey polo style shirt, tried to keep the other man from starting a fight, but the suspect in a black and yellow shirt punched Schwirtlich twice.

He was already unconscious as he fell to the ground and hit his head on the sidewalk. Police say he suffered possible life threatening injuries from a cut to the back of his head.

It's not clear how long he was left on the sidewalk before someone stopped to help. In the surveillance video you can see what appears to be flashing lights from a police car about a block over while the assault was going on.

If you can identify the men seen in the video, call Crime Stoppers at 888-TIPS, or submit a tip online at www.888tips.com.