Arrest Made in Elderly Veteran's Beating

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The search for a man accused of beating an elderly St. Petersburg veteran with his own walker ended in Tampa Thursday.

According to St. Petersburg Police, officers brought Harold Stewart, 37, into custody and also located the Dodge Durango connected to a Sept. 2 attack.

During that attack, Stewart is accused of approaching Jeffery Hardeman, 66, as he neared the entrance to the 201 34th St. N. Walmart in St. Petersburg around 1 p.m. Police say Hardeman, a disabled Army veteran, was using a walker at the time.

According to authorities, Stewart asked Hardeman for the time. “The younger man then put the elderly man in a choke hold, threw the elderly man to the ground and began punching him,” an earlier email from the police department said. “The younger man also used the elderly man's walker to proceed to beat the elderly man.”

See also: Good Samaritan Gives Vet Beaten with Walker a Helping Hand

After getting the victim’s wallet, cash and other personal items, police say the attacker ran to a blue Dodge Durango and drove off. A witness later told police the license plate may have started with the letters GKA.

The attack kicked off a hunt for the Durango and the man responsible for the attack. It also gave rise to an outpouring of support for Hardeman.

St. Petersburg Police received two separate donations of $600 to help Hardeman during recovery. An anonymous donor also reportedly provided Hardeman with a new walker to replace the one involved in the attack.

Stewart’s last known address was in St. Petersburg. He was arrested in May on false imprisonment charges, Pinellas County Jail records indicate. He had yet to be booked into the jail on the new charges as of Thursday afternoon.

Previous booking photo courtesy of the St. Petersburg Police Department