Florida Ex-Con Brawls at Bus Stop With Teen Who Jumped his Son

A Florida man who was previously convicted of murder allegedly lurked in wait at a bus stop Tuesday to beat up a teenager who’d gotten into a fight with his son.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said that Jarrett Garrett McCabe, 47, waited at the bus stop to confront the 16-year-old boy. According to a DoorDash driver who relayed information to the deputies after witnessing the incident, McCabe confronted the kid — and then punched him once in the face and twice in the stomach.

McCabe was arrested and charged with simple battery for Tuesday’s incident in Lakeland, a city east of Tampa, the sheriff’s office said. McCabe, meanwhile, reportedly told deputies that he'd merely slapped the boy in the face.

The brawl was apparently sparked by two separate fights McCabe’s son has gotten into over the last couple of weeks, fighting a different boy each time. The unidentified teen that McCabe allegedly slugged Tuesday reportedly fought his son last week.

McCabe said that his son was jumped by two boys, but Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said that doesn’t justify a grown man waiting to “beat up a kid.”

"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," Judd said, according to Fox 35. "Based on this and his criminal history, he clearly has anger-management issues."

McCabe previously served nearly seven years in Florida state prison with  prior convictions for second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a weapon and shooting/throwing a deadly missile into a building or vehicle, the sheriff's office stated. 

McCabe has already been released from the Polk County Jail.