WINTER PARK, Fla. – An elderly man who asked another patron to back away from him because he wasn’t wearing a mask at a gas station was beaten, kicked in the head and spit on, according to the Winter Park Police Department.
Police said the 70-year-old victim was at a Citgo on Orange Avenue around 7:40 p.m. on Tuesday when he noticed Rovester Ingram was not wearing a mask, so he asked Ingram to social distance.
The two argued then the victim left the convenience store with the items he purchased only to be followed by Ingram, who punched him in the face, records show.
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Authorities said the victim tried to go back inside the store to escape the attack but Ingram followed him again, this time punching him, kicking him and shoving him to the ground before grabbing him by his hair and pulling him back to the parking lot.
The victim was on his stomach as Ingram repeatedly punched him in the head, then spat on him, kicked him in the head and walked away, according to the affidavit.
When police arrived, the victim told them, “This guy just beat the hell out of me.” Records show he suffered serious injuries, including broken bones.
Though Ingram left the scene before authorities arrived, surveillance video from the Citgo helped police identify him as a suspect, according to the report.
Ingram said the victim was “getting crazy” and being “aggressive” so he just “snapped” and hit the elderly man in the face, the affidavit said.
Ingram, 24, was arrested Tuesday at his home on charges of aggravated battery and kidnapping.