Florida ex-con dad beats up 16-year-old at school bus stop over fight with his son, deputies say
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POLK COUNTY, Fla. - A Lakeland man, who was previously convicted for second-degree murder, was arrested again this week after he waited around at a school bus stop and allegedly beat up a 16-year-old boy who reportedly got into a fight with his son – and a DoorDash driver saw the whole thing go down.
Jarrett Garrett McCabe was arrested and charged with simple battery after the incident that happened Tuesday on David Street in Lakeland, according to a press release from the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
McCabe told detectives that a neighbor told him two boys had jumped his son on Monday. An investigation revealed that while McCabe's son did get into a fight with one of the boys a few weeks ago and the other on Monday, he wasn't jumped in either incident, deputies said.
After the fight on Monday, the boy and his mother reportedly spoke with McCabe, and the boy apologized to him for fighting with his son.
The next day, the 47-year-old man waited around at the bus stop to see if the boys would fight his son again.
Photo: Polk County Sheriffs Office
When the boys got off the bus, however, McCabe confronted them – he told detectives that he slapped one of them in the face. A DoorDash food delivery driver who witnessed the entire incident told deputies he actually punched the boy, once in the face and twice in the stomach.
The boy he punched was the 16-year-old who McCabe's son got into a fight with a few weeks ago. The other boy was present when McCabe confronted them, but wasn't injured, according to deputies.
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"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," Sheriff Grady Judd said in a press release. "Based on this and his criminal history, he clearly has anger-management issues."
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, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. McCabe has previously served nearly seven years in Florida state prison.
McCabe has since been released from Polk County Jail.