‘Like a bunch of pack animals’: Teens claim they beat man ‘senseless’ because he was ‘bothering an autistic friend’ of theirs, police say

A radical of teens successful Florida bushed a antheral “senseless” past week, jumping connected him “like a clump of battalion animals” and pummeling him repeatedly “with a sickening rage,” constabulary officials say.

The alleged onslaught unfolded Monday, May 5, astatine astir 11:40 p.m. successful Polk County, with cops reporting that the 4 teens, 3 of whom are implicit 18 and being charged arsenic adults, told authorities they assaulted the unfortunate due to the fact that helium was “bothering an autistic friend” of theirs, according to a Polk County Sheriff’s Office press release.

Juan Ramos, 35, told constabulary helium was talking to a antheral astatine a Mulberry car lavation connected North Church Avenue erstwhile the radical allegedly acceptable upon him.

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“Next happening I know, I’m getting pounded,” Ramos recalled to NBC affiliate WFLA from his infirmary bed.

“I didn’t cognize what was going on,” helium said.

The teens charged arsenic adults person been identified by constabulary arsenic Eathan Simmons, 18, and Westlee Davis II, 18, who are some charged with attempted second-degree murder, aggravated artillery with bodily harm, rioting, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and Dalton Creach, 19, is charged with rioting and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Cops person requested that a 17-year-old who was allegedly progressive beryllium charged arsenic an big with attempted murder, aggravated artillery with bodily harm, rioting, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

According to PCSO officials, Ramos admitted to being intoxicated during the incidental and connected probation, which caused him to not study what allegedly happened astatine first. His woman coiled up being the 1 who called cops, with detectives past asking that helium travel guardant to cooperate and assistance enactment the teens down bars.

“They bushed him without mercy,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd astatine a Friday press briefing. “Jumped connected him similar a clump of battalion animals.”

Ramos suffered superior injuries to his look arsenic a effect of the alleged beating, including a breached nose, breached jaw, aggregate lacerations and swelling. The sheriff’s bureau released an representation of him from the infirmary showing the severity of his injuries, on with cellphone footage of the alleged incident.

“I’m going to stock with you thing that is animalistic,” Judd told reporters, successful notation to the video footage. “It’s horrible. You can’t judge successful today’s nine that radical volition attraction truthful small for different quality being.”

Judd said that constabulary were moving to place the autistic person who the teens were allegedly defending, but investigators had yet to bash truthful arsenic of Friday. Ramos allegedly told authorities that helium was simply talking to a idiosyncratic astir their car erstwhile the teens attacked him.

Judd said that nary substance the circumstances, nary 1 should beryllium allegedly beaten successful the mode that Ramos was. “In a escaped society, we don’t dainty radical similar that,” the sheriff concluded. “That conduct’s not acceptable successful Polk County.”