POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Door Dash delivery driver witnessed a Lakeland man punching a 16-year old boy who had a fight with his son a few days earlier, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the delivery driver witnessed 47-year old Jarrett McCabe hitting the child on David Street in Lakeland on Tuesday.
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During an interview with deputies, McCabe said that he was told by a neighbor that two boys had jumped his son the day before.
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According to a news release, McCabe’s son had a fight with the one of the boys “a few weeks ago”, and the other boy on Monday, but McCabe’s son hadn’t been jumped in either incident.
Deputies said that on Tuesday McCabe went to the bus stop and waited to see if the boys were going to fight his son again, but when he saw the boys get off the bus, he confronted them.
According to the release, McCabe admitted that he slapped one of the boys in the face with an open hand. A witness said that McCabe also punched the boy in the face once and twice in the stomach.
Deputies said the victim was the child who fought with McCabe’s son a few weeks prior. In addition, the boy who was with the victim when McCabe confronted them was the boy who fought with McCabe’s son on Monday.
“It’s understandable that a dad would be upset about his son getting jumped, but waiting at a bus stop to beat up a kid is not the kind of example you want to be setting for your child. Based on this and his criminal history, he clearly has anger-management issues,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
According to the release, McCabe’s criminal history includes prior convictions for second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a weapon, and shooting/throwing a deadly missile into a building or vehicle. He served six years and eleven months in Florida state prison, deputies said.
McCabe was booked into the Polk County Jail with a charge of simple battery.
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