Four young men face enhanced felony charges after a disabled 19-year-old was beaten for roughly 30 to 40 minutes at a bonfire party in Tiger Bay State Forest, Volusia County, Florida, on October 23, according to Sheriff Mike Chitwood.
The suspects are 18-year-old Cody Stripling, 19-year-old Sebastian Bowers, 18-year-old Logan Levesque, and 19-year-old Casey Knight. All four are being held in jail without bond.
Chitwood said the victim, who has physical disabilities, went to the party with a friend but didn’t know anyone else there. He initially didn’t want to join in but eventually did.
“He doesn’t want to participate. Eventually he does. And then you saw where these morons — actually, we’ve dubbed them scumbags of the week — they decide that is going to be a really good idea to beat somebody down who can’t defend themselves,” Chitwood said.
Video of the attack, which later circulated online, shows one of the young men punching the victim as he sat on the bed of a truck before pulling him to the ground, where others appeared to join in beating him.
At one point in the video, someone asks the victim, “What did you do?” He answers, “I didn’t do shit.” Shortly after, someone tells the group to spit on him.
Authorities say the victim suffered a concussion and minor injuries. The suspects reportedly claimed afterward that the victim had made a comment about a woman in the group.
“They’re all looking at felonies, and they’re looking at something that’s going to follow them for the rest of their lives,” Chitwood said.
The sheriff’s office released footage of the suspects being taken into custody. In the video, one of them can be heard telling others at the scene, “Hey, call my Mom!”
Chitwood said the victim’s friend eventually got him away from the scene, but the group waited a day before his mother called authorities.
“How did you raise your kid that this is a good thing and no one trying to stop it, right? Nobody intervenes. They beat him down, they film it and they’re laughing. And then eventually, his friend is able to get him out of there. And then they waited a day before mom calls us,” Chitwood said.
