A Houston man has been charged with felony aggravated assault in connection with punching a man and breaking his jaw in the Home Depot parking lot Thursday morning.
The victim on Facebook said the man who punched him was dragging a U.S. flag on the back of his car.
An arrest warrant has been issued for 46-year-old Terrance Watson and Orange police were looking for him Friday afternoon.
Orange Detective Captain Robert Enmon said Watson had contacted police earlier to give his account of what happened.
Watson is accused of punching 39-year-old Brandon Scott of Nederland. Scott’s Facebook post about being punched has drawn thousands of comments on Facebook. He gave his story on what happened and said he was at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont. He later reported he was having surgery to repair fractures in his jaw.
Watson responded on Scott’s post. He said Scott blocked his car and he feared for his life. He accused Scott of trying to jerk off the flag and the car’s tailpipe and said he was protecting his property.
Captain Enmon said investigators reviewed security video from Home Depot and saw a man punching the victim. He said the victim staggered after the punch, but did not fall and hit the pavement.
The suspect was not at the parking lot when police arrived Thursday about 11 a.m.
Enmon said Acadian Ambulance treated the victim at the scene, but he refused to be taken to the hospital because he had his young son with him at the time. He later went to St. Elizabeth.
In the Facebook post, Scott said he saw a car dragging “what I thought was a sign down MLK in Orange.” He said he followed the car and when it pulled into the Home Depot parking lot, he stopped to tell the driver about the object.
“As he drives approaching me, I get out and wave him down, “hey man, you’re dragging something behind you”,” Scott wrote on Facebook. “As I approach the back of his car to help him remove, I see it’s an American flag. I’m squatting down and turn to let him know and that’s where he cheap shots me in the jaw and drives off. A good citizen follows and gets the license plate. All of this while my son is in the car.”
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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