DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) - The man who, authorities said, beat another man unconscious at a Davie indoor trampoline park has turned himself in.
On Wednesday, Davie Police released surveillance video of the Oct. 13 attack, hoping members of the public could help them locate 23-year-old Courtney Wilson. The department said Wilson had agreed to turn himself in, but then stopped complying with them.
Cameras captured the moment when the victim was knocked down to the ground at Off the Wall Fun Center, located along the 9100 block of West State Road 84, in front of his 8-year-old son.
Wilson surrendered to police overnight Thursday and has been charged with aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability.
He is expected to appear in court later in the day.
The 50-year-old victim said Wilson accused him of grabbing his game card, which had been left in a machine, and putting it in his pocket.
“As I was approaching, he comes in front of me and squares me up and says, ‘You need to give me that card,’ said the victim, “and I said, ‘Listen, man. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t need your card. I don’t have your card. This is the card that I have. I have my son to get him ready for school. I need to go.'”
Speaking to 7News, the victim said he tried to explain to Wilson that he didn’t have the card and was actually about to leave with his son.
“Next thing I know, I remember a strike. The next thing I remember is people getting me up,” said the victim. “I was a little bloody. I see a child crying. I didn’t recognize my son. I didn’t know where I was. I kept asking people, ‘Where am I? What am I doing here? What happened to me?'”
Surveillance video captured what happened next as the assailant could be seen punching the victim in the chin, causing him to fall down. The attacker could then be seen hitting the victim several other times while he’s lying on the ground. Seconds later, a woman holding a child is then seen pulling Wilson away by the arm.
“It’s a relief knowing that this person is off the street, because he could cause harm to anybody, doesn’t even have to be a man,” said the victim. “He would’ve done this to anyone.”
The victim said when he regained consciousness, he wasn’t able to recognize his own son.
“I kept asking people, ‘Where am I? What am I doing here? What happened to me?’” the victim said.
He said the punch broke his tooth and bruised his jaw, but the damage to his son is what has him more upset.
“My son asked me many, many times over, ‘How are you feeling, dad? How’s everything?’ he said. “Something that a child should not even be concerned, you know?”
The owner of Off the Wall Fun Center said incidents of this nature are taken seriously.
“It’s a safe place and if anyone comes in and acts up, you know, we’re gonna get the police involved and have you removed from our establishment,” said Off the Wall Fun Center owner Sam Yecutieli. “If we need to call the police, we’ll call the police. I hope justice is done.”
The victim said he is using this awful experience to teach his son that there are consequences to every bad decision and action.
“Now, I can feel good about going to him and saying, ‘Hey, this is what’s happening. This is the outcome of those actions,’ he said, “so it’s also a lesson for him.”
The victim was treated for his injuries and has since recovered.
Wilson is being held at the Broward County jail on a $7,500 bond.
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