WEST BOCA RATON, FL — A 48-year-old man was arrested after allegedly attacking a teenage boy during an early-morning altercation at a West Boca Raton home.
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the residence around 4:45 a.m. on March 8 following reports of battery. The victim, a minor whose name was withheld, told deputies that Luis Baez held him down, pulled his hair, and repeatedly punched him in the face. Deputies observed a welt on the teen’s left eye and bruising around his right eye.
According to a witness, the incident occurred after she and the victim returned from a party. Baez reportedly became upset because a 10-year-old child had been left home alone. He then allegedly attacked the teen.
Deputies reviewed security camera footage from the home, showing that shortly after 4 a.m., Baez slapped the victim, who lunged and pushed him in self-defense. The video shows Baez losing his footing but then charging the teen and striking him with closed fists. For roughly four minutes, the footage depicts Baez on top of the teen, pulling his hair and punching him. Attempts by a woman to intervene were unsuccessful before the teen escaped.
Baez was arrested and charged with child abuse without great bodily harm. He was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail with a $5,000 bond.
