Southeast Fresno Robbers Break Victim's Leg, Steal Phone in Broad Daylight

A man walking home near Belmont Avenue and Third Street in southeast Fresno was attacked from behind, beaten so badly he suffered a broken leg, and robbed of his phone in broad daylight on Sunday, August 9. Police say the assault happened at roughly 1:40 p.m. as the victim tried to make it home, and detectives are now asking the public for help identifying the people responsible.

According to the Fresno Police Department, the suspects approached the victim from behind near Belmont Avenue and Third Street and began assaulting him. As reported by GV Wire, the timestamp of roughly 1:40 p.m. places the attack squarely in the middle of a Sunday afternoon, not under cover of darkness, which underscores how brazen the assault was for a residential corridor.

The victim tried to escape by running into the middle of Belmont Avenue, but the suspects followed and continued the assault there, according to the police account. During the attack, they took his orange iPhone 17 Pro Max, valued at $1,000. The beating left him with a broken leg, an injury serious enough to carry legal weight if suspects are eventually charged and convicted.

What Suspects Could Face Under California Law

Robbery is defined under California Penal Code Section 211 as taking someone's property through force or fear, and second-degree robbery convictions can bring a state prison sentence of two, three, or five years under Section 213, per the same statute. Because the victim suffered a broken bone, prosecutors could also pursue a sentencing enhancement under Penal Code Section 12022.7, which adds three to six years to a sentence when a defendant causes great bodily injury during a felony, according to the same law group's summary.

No suspect descriptions, arrests, or charges have been released, and the case remains unsolved as detectives continue gathering information. The robbery falls within the Fresno Police Department's Southeast Policing District, which is based out of a district station on South Cedar Avenue, per the department's own jurisdictional listings.

Detective With Belmont Corridor History Leads Case

The case has been assigned to Detective Albert Avelar of the department's Southeast Investigations Unit, who has previously worked robbery cases along the Belmont Avenue corridor, including an April 2025 commercial robbery on East Belmont, per the department's own case records. Anyone with information is asked to call Avelar directly at 559-621-6328 or email him at [email protected].

Tipsters who prefer to stay anonymous can instead contact Valley Crime Stoppers at 559-498-STOP (7867). The nonprofit, which has served Fresno, Madera, Kings, and Tulare counties since 1993, offers cash rewards of up to $3,000 for anonymous tips that lead to felony arrests, according to Valley Crime Stoppers. Tips submitted through Crime Stoppers come with guaranteed anonymity and untracked phone numbers or IP addresses, though tips given directly to police beforehand are not eligible for the reward, per guidance from the Fresno County Sheriff's Office.

A Daylight Robbery Amid an Overall Decline in Violent Crime

The attack comes even as Fresno's broader crime numbers have been trending downward. Midyear statistics released by the Fresno Police Department in July showed overall violent crime dropped 5% and property crime fell 4% during the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year, GV Wire reported. The city also recorded 22 homicides in 2025, its lowest annual total in 51 years and a 70% drop from the 74 homicides logged in both 2020 and 2021.

Statewide, the picture is similarly mixed: the Public Policy Institute of California found that the state's overall violent crime rate fell 5.3% in 2024, though it remained 9.8% above pre-pandemic 2019 levels. For residents near Belmont Avenue, those broader trends offer little comfort after a daylight assault left a neighbor with a broken leg and no suspects in custody. It remains unclear whether nearby surveillance cameras captured the attack or getaway, or whether the stolen iPhone's location data has given investigators any additional leads.