Sheriff: 4 Florida Teens Attack Man ‘Like a Bunch of Pack Animals’

Last week, authorities in Florida arrested four teenagers for a brutal assault on a man that occurred on May 5. The incident involving Juan Carlos Ramos was captured on a cell phone video, enabling law enforcement to identify the suspects. The arrested individuals were Eathan Ryne Simmons, 18; Westlee Austin Davis II, 18; Dalton Ivory Creach, 19; and Robert Frerichs, 17, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. The victim’s wife, Rachel Ramos, reported the attack after her husband returned home and disclosed the incident. Juan Carlos Ramos had refrained from reporting the assault initially due to being on probation and consuming alcohol, which was against his probation terms. The victim recounted being conversing with a man at a Mulberry car wash when the four teenagers launched the assault. The video footage of the attack was described as distressing by Sheriff Judd, illustrating how Ramos was incapacitated by the initial blow and subjected to relentless and brutal beating by the suspects. Ramos sustained severe injuries to his eyes, nose, jaw, and teeth. The teenagers were apprehended on Thursday and faced charges such as attempted murder, aggravated battery with bodily harm, and rioting. In addition, the 18-year-olds and the 17-year-old were charged with influencing the delinquency of a minor, while the 19-year-old faced an additional rioting charge. The assailants alleged that Ramos had claimed to be affiliated with the MS-13 gang and that they assaulted him for troubling an autistic friend, as per Sheriff Judd. Rachel Ramos vehemently denied her husband’s association with any gang. Judd condemned the attackers’ actions, emphasizing that such behavior is intolerable in Polk County. Authorities are currently attempting to identify the purported “autistic friend” and another male believed to have been with him during the incident.