Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 54-year-old Honduran man, identified as Hugo Alberto Rodriguez-Rivera, was arrested Thursday after police said he punched a juvenile outside a Gainesville grocery store following a dispute over the teen’s use of a mobility scooter.
According to the Gainesville Police Department, an officer was called to the Winn-Dixie on NW 23rd Avenue at about 5:26 p.m. on June 26. Rodriguez-Rivera reportedly told the officer he confronted the juvenile because he believed the teen, whom he described as able-bodied, should not have been riding the mobility scooter. He allegedly said the teen then used racial slurs and spit at him, prompting him to strike the juvenile.
The 17-year-old victim gave police a different account. He reportedly said he and a friend were walking outside the store when he got on the mobility scooter. Rodriguez-Rivera allegedly passed them, then returned and made a remark about the teen using the scooter despite not having a disability. The victim said he repeatedly told Rodriguez-Rivera to leave him alone, but Rodriguez-Rivera refused and then hit him on the side of the face. The teen said he stood up and faced Rodriguez-Rivera, who continued yelling before eventually walking away.
The responding officer noted that there was no visible injury to the victim’s face, though the teen reported having a cut inside his mouth.
Police said surveillance video from the store appeared to support the teen’s version of events. The video reportedly showed Rodriguez-Rivera walking back and forth outside the business as the victim and his friend approached the mobility scooter. After the victim got on the scooter and continued along the sidewalk, he and Rodriguez-Rivera crossed paths, and Rodriguez-Rivera appeared to speak briefly with him without any visible aggression. Rodriguez-Rivera then walked away, but soon returned and moved quickly toward the victim, who appeared to be looking down at something in his lap, before punching him. The officer wrote that the victim’s head “visibly jolts to the side from the impact.” The victim stood and faced Rodriguez-Rivera but did not approach him, according to the report. Rodriguez-Rivera allegedly continued moving toward the teen while yelling as the victim backed away, before Rodriguez-Rivera ultimately left the area. The officer reported that neither the victim nor his friend spit on Rodriguez-Rivera or attempted to harm him.
After being read his Miranda rights, Rodriguez-Rivera again allegedly told police the juvenile had spit on him and said he responded by hitting the teen.
Rodriguez-Rivera was charged with child abuse without great bodily harm. Authorities said he was identified through a Honduran driver’s license and is being held on an ICE detainer.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
