1:21 PM PT -- SFPD says it now has two suspects in custody that they believe are connected to the attack that nearly killed Jack Palladino -- and the big twist ... the victim himself may have had a hand in tracking them down.
City officials announced Sunday 23-year-old Tyjone Flournoy and 24-year-old Lawrence Thomas were arrested over the attack. They've been booked for attempted robbery and assault with a deadly weapon -- formal charges have yet to be filed.
As for tracking these guys down ... Palladino's family tells the SF Chronicle Jack himself snapped photos before he was brutalized and it helped crack the case. Basically, his family says he rushed outside Friday evening to get pics of people whom he believed were making trouble in the neighborhood -- firing off a few snaps before he was spotted.
His family says that's when his assailants "gunned him down" with their car, and tried stealing his camera ... but Jack refused to let go, at which point he was dragged and hit his head. He's still unconscious for now, but his family gave him the good news anyway ... saying the police told them his photos were useful in catching the alleged criminals.
His wife, Sandra Sutherland, says she said this to an unresponsive Jack ... "Guess what Jack, they got the bastards, and it was all your doing." Sadly, he's not expected to live.
Famous P.I. Jack Palladino -- who worked on a slew of cases from Bill Clinton to Kurt Cobain -- is on life support and not expected to survive after getting gravely injured during a robbery.
The 70-year-old was outside his home in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco Thursday, testing a new camera he got when a car drove by, a man jumped out and attempted to steal it.
The robber yanked the camera away from Palladino, causing him to fall ... hitting his head on the pavement and rendering him unconscious with grave injuries.
Palladino underwent surgery to stop the massive bleeding and was placed on life support. He is not expected to survive.
He has been one of the premier P.I.'s since the '80s and continued to work on cases until he suffered his injury.
Palladino was hired by the Clinton campaign in 1992 to investigate the extra-marital affair allegations against the then-Presidential candidate. He was also hired to determine the cause of the 1994 death of Kurt Cobain. And, he was involved in investigating the circumstances surrounding the Jonestown mass suicides.
The P.I. had many other cases ... he repped the 14-year-old boy in his civil, molestation lawsuit against Michael Jackson. The child eventually got a $20 million settlement. He was also hired by John DeLorean, who was charged and acquitted of cocaine trafficking.
A suspect has been arrested in the robbery.
Originally Published -- 10:12 AM PT