Two Florida teenagers and a 23-year-old man are behind bars after they attacked a disabled Navy veteran who was trying to protect a turtle that they were torturing.
(FOX)- Gary Blough came upon the group in Daytona Beach as they were taking the turtle and slamming it down as hard as they could on its shell. He asked them to leave the animal alone and then he tried to help the turtle back into the water.
“While I had my head turned two of them started hitting me in the back of the head and punching me,” Blough told Fox 35. “Next thing I know we’re in a scuffle and I’m fighting three of them at the same time defending myself.”
The group began to punch and kick him, leaving him with a severely swollen eye and a bump on the back of his head.
After other people came to see the commotion, they fled, but police later caught up with them nearby, charging all three with aggravated battery and animal cruelty.
Authorities told Fox 35 that when another officer went to check on the turtle later, it was gone; they believe the turtle died and sank into the water.