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Stockton Business Owner Back At Work After Brutal Beating

STOCKTON (CBS13) — The Stockton business owner who was brutally beaten just outside his storefront earlier this summer isn't just walking and talking, he's back at work.

"I just remember going outside and then waking up, and then the hospital," said Roderick Tyler, 24, owner of House of Ice Cream in downtown Stockton.

Tyler was getting ready to close up shop for the day when a group of men jumped out of two cars and attacked him.

"I am not walking around mad, taking it out on everybody, because I realized that a person's actions don't speak for everybody else on earth," he said.

The suspects broke his jaw and left him bedridden for quite some time.

"I was in so much pain. They had me on so much medication, and I just wasn't myself," said Tyler.

It's still unclear why Tyler was targeted, but after several surgeries and doctor's appointments, Tyler says he is happy to be alive and glad to be with his loved ones as he returns to run the business he opened a little over a year ago.

"I really appreciate the community. I never knew that so much people had my back, being in my corner, rooting for me to get better. I felt that love and it kind of showed me like 'wow,' it made a better person, I feel like," he said.

More than $15,000 was raised to help Tyler with medical expenses. Stockton police say most of the suspects who jumped Tyler are in jail.

"It's been a journey, but we are getting through it," said Tyler.

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