Four Florida teens were arrested last week for the “sickening” beating of a man on May 5.
A cell phone video recorded the assault of Juan Carlos Ramos, which aided deputies in arresting the four suspects, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
Eathan Ryne Simmons, 18; Westlee Austin Davis II, 18; Dalton Ivory Creach, 19; and Robert Frerichs, 17, were arrested, the sheriff said.
Ramos’s spouse, Rachel Ramos, notified authorities of the assault late Monday night after Ramos returned home. Initially, Ramos did not report the incident because he is on probation and had been consuming alcohol, which he is prohibited from doing. He was worried about facing consequences due to his intoxicated state, as he explained to WFLA.
Ramos told deputies that he was talking to a man at a Mulberry car wash when the four teens attacked him.
“The beating captured on video is distressing,” Judd stated. “The first punch rendered the victim helpless, and the suspects continued their brutal assault, repeatedly attacking him with shocking aggression.”
Ramos suffered serious injuries to his eyes, nose, jaw, and teeth.
The four teens were arrested on Thursday, with the 18-year-olds and the 17-year-old charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery with bodily harm, and rioting. The two 18-year-olds and the 19-year-old were also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and the 19-year-old was charged with rioting.
The attackers claimed that Ramos said he was a member of the MS-13 gang and that they attacked him because he was “bothering an autistic friend,” Judd said.
Rachel Ramos, the victim’s wife, emphatically said her husband is not a gang member.
“They beat him without mercy,” said Judd. “Jumped on him like a bunch of pack animals.”
“We don’t treat people like that,” the sheriff said. “That conduct’s not acceptable in Polk County.”
Judd added that deputies were trying to identify the supposed “autistic friend” and another male he was supposedly with but have been unable to do so thus far.
