(WHDH) — A 22-year-old man who tried to steal golf balls was arrested after he brutally beat an elderly golfer in a violent attack last week, officials said.
Tyler Donald Dearden, of Florida, was arrested Wednesday at a golf course in Ocala after he attacked an elderly man in a fit of rage, leaving him with a broken rib, multiple bruises, and cuts that required nine stitches, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
“Tyler became tee’d off when he was told that he was not allowed to steal someone else’s golf balls at the Stone Creek Golf Course. Tyler decided to take cheap shots instead of chip shots when he beat an elderly golfer to the point that the victim had a broken rib, multiple bruises and cuts that required 9 stitches,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post. “We felt his actions were not par for the course and he was promptly carted off to jail.”
Dearden was taking balls from the victim’s driving range bucket, prompting him to file a complaint with the golf club’s pro shop, according to WFTV.
Dearden told investigators that the victim had threatened him with a golf club before the alleged assault, documents obtained by the news outlet indicate.
He is facing a charge of assault and battery on a person over the age of 65.
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