Pinkberry co-founder Young Lee arrested for beating homeless man

Young Lee, a co-founder of frozen yogurt chain Pinkberry Inc., was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday for allegedly assaulting a homeless man with a deadly weapon in June 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. The LAX Fugitive Task Force, which includes Los Angeles Police Department officers and FBI agents, nabbed Lee, 47, after he got off a flight from South Korea, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Lee, who faces seven years in prison if convicted of assault, was released today on $60,000 bail, the LA Times reported.

The LAPD said that the homeless man had asked Lee for money while he was stopped at a light on an off-ramp of the Hollywood Freeway at Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles, the LA Times reported.

According to the district attorney's office, Lee was enraged by a tattoo on the man, the LA Times reported. Lee and a companion got out of their car, chased the man and “beat him down” with a tire iron, police Capt. Paul Vernon told the LA Times.

According to ABC News:

Witnesses reported the incident to police, including the license plate of the vehicle, a Range Rover, which was rented in Lee's name. Police seized the tire iron from the vehicle, police said. Witnesses also helped police identify Lee from a photo display, allowing police to obtain a warrant for his arrest.

"This case is emblematic of how the homeless are among the most vulnerable in our society," Lt. Paul Vernon said in a statement, according to ABC News. "Despite the challenges in the case, the detectives never gave up and eventually found the victim after leads took them to Skidrow and the local jail."

Lee was a kick-boxer and a bouncer before he became an architect and opened Pinkberry with Shelly Hwang in Los Angeles in 2005, ABC News reported.

More from GlobalPost: Health food booms in India