Local nightclub raises money for ice cream man robbed, beaten in south Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A local nightclub is raising money for an ice cream man who is recovering after being robbed and attacked while on his route in south Charlotte.

Midnite Rodeo on Albemarle Road continued to raise money at an event Saturday night.

The club owner told Channel 9 Sunday they raised $1,036 for Toribio Alberto as he recovers.

Alberto was robbed and beaten while working on Archdale Road earlier this month. He suffered severe bruising to his face.

He has had to stop working while he recovers.

Police arrested two people after the ice cream man said he was beaten and robbed while on his route in south Charlotte.

Police said 63-year-old Alberto was robbed at gunpoint and then assaulted.

Alberto told Channel 9 that two men approached him, pulled out a gun and said they wanted his money. He said the men stomped and punched him.

Romell Mackey, 22, was charged with armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and felony larceny of a vehicle. Mackey has been arrested more than 30 times in three years.

On Monday, police announced that 21-year-old Wesley Fontaine was arrested in connection with the crime.

“We actually see him throughout the community frequently selling ice cream. We've gone up to him, we've purchased ice cream ourselves,” Detective Alec LaFontaine, with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, said.

LaFontaine said officers took this case personally.

Police said they were able to identify Mackey by surveillance video in the area.

They said they didn’t identify Fontaine until he was arrested Saturday on unrelated charges.

Alberto said about a week later there is still pain from the beating, but he's also felt the warmth of a community that has rallied around him since the attack.

A nightclub on Albemarle Road is offering to hold a fundraiser to help pay his medical bills.

Shortly after the beating, Alberto said it could have been worse.

“His face was just unrecognizable,” Alberto’s friend Gema Vu said.

Alberto said the men ran off with a full day’s profit, his wallet, and his cellphone.

Friends said Alberto has brought so much joy to children in the community.

“The poor man didn’t deserve anything he got,” Alberto’s friend Hugo Lopez said.

Friends have set up a GoFundMe Page to help pay for his medical bills and loss of wages.

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