Information shared by Park Hills residents and business owners helped police identify and locate a suspect after Jose Gonzalez, 84, was injured at his flea market, investigators said. A customer found Gonzalez inside Jose’s Flea Market and called 911 for an ambulance and police. Officers were sent to the 200 block of West Main Street on Wednesday, and Gonzalez was flown to a St. Louis-area hospital, according to Daily Journal Online.
Police obtained surveillance footage and information about the suspect’s whereabouts with help from area residents and businesses. The department credited people who shared footage and statements with contributing directly to the arrest, the Daily Journal Online reported. KSDK reported that police arrested William Ortiz about two hours after the attack.
KSDK reported that Ortiz faces several felony charges, including assault and robbery. In an earlier account, Daily Journal Online said police took the suspect into custody without incident and that he was being held at the St. Francois County Jail on a 24-hour hold pending a warrant. That account describes the status at the time of publication; the reports cited here do not establish a later custody or court update.
The accounts establish that Gonzalez was found injured and taken for hospital treatment. Fox 2 reported that his injuries included brain bleeding, an aneurysm and multiple lacerations. KSDK reported that a longtime friend described an assault inside the business involving a metal object. Those details are attributed to the outlets’ reporting; the available accounts do not provide an independent medical update.
What state figures do—and do not—show
Missouri’s reported abuse figures offer limited background, not a measure of attacks like this one. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services received and investigated 43,208 reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation in 2025, about 1,300 more than in 2024, according to Daily Journal Online, reporting originally by KBIA and distributed by Missouri Independent. Those broad categories do not measure stranger assaults and do not establish anything about Gonzalez’s case.
Local outlets also reported plans for a Friday gathering outside the shop at 217 West Main Street to pray for Gonzalez’s recovery. Fox 2 described a vigil scheduled for 6 p.m.; KSDK reported on a candlelight vigil called Praying for Jose.
