Attack on a vendor in Visalia: Video shows the attack on a street vendor near Mt. Whitney High School in California

VISALIA, Calif. – A viral video showed a man attacking a street vendor near a California high school on Tuesday.

The attack occurred around 1 p.m. as a vendor was selling items outside a home near Mt. Whitney High School in Visalia, California.

Visalia police say 40-year-old Joshua Martino was upset that a crowd of children were gathering outside the home.

He and the clerk got into an argument and Martino overturned the clerk's shopping cart.

“I am very sad about this situation and think that communities really need to understand how vulnerable street vendors are,” says Genoveva Islas.

Islas is executive director of Cultiva la Salud, a public health organization that works with food vendors who she says have been victims of violence in recent years.

“We have street vendors who have been attacked, even a street vendor who lost his life,” says Islas.

Martino was arrested for assault and vandalism.

He is being held in the Tulare County Jail.

Legal analyst Tony Capozzi called this case outrageous.

“I would be surprised if the district attorney didn’t file criminal charges in this case,” Capozzi said.

Capozzi says the Tulare County District Attorney's Office may also consider previous cases.

Action News found that Martino has a history of run-ins with police in Kern and Tulare Counties.

He was most recently arrested in March 2022 for assault and battery.

In 2014 he was arrested for similar offenses.

He served time for both incidents and was then sentenced to probation.

Capozzi says it's up to prosecutors to decide what charges to bring.

“If it is a misdemeanor, the prison sentence is one year; if it’s a felony, it’s either 16 months, two or three years in prison,” Capozzi said.

Martino is expected to appear in court Thursday afternoon.