An Ocala man is in the Marion County Jail for allegedly knocking out a man during an argument in a grocery store parking lot.
Jesus Martin De La Rosa Enriquez, 30, of 11500 NW 16th Place, was charged with battery after the incident, which happened Sunday afternoon at Amex Food and Deli, 125 NW 110th Ave.
A Marion County sheriff’s deputy responded to the store and found the victim with swelling below his right eye and blood coming from his nose. He had lost consciousness during the altercation and wasn’t able to provide much information about what happened. He only said he got into an argument with De La Rosa that escalated into a physical altercation, according to the sheriff’s office report.
A witness who is an acquaintance of both De La Rosa and the victim told the deputy the victim was walking towards the store when he had an exchange of words with De La Rosa, who was getting out of his vehicle. The witness said De La Rosa approached the victim in an aggressive manner and started the physical altercation, the report said.
Contacted at his home, De La Rosa said the victim was running his mouth and had been doing so for a while. He said he approached the victim and a verbal argument became physical. De La Rosa said the victim tried to punch him and he was only defending himself, according to the report.
Video surveillance from the store showed De La Rosa arriving at the store. The victim is then seen walking in the direction of De La Rosa’s vehicle, then stopping a few feet short of it. The video shows De La Rosa pointing at the victim and approaching him in an aggressive manner, the report said.
De La Rosa poked the victim twice on the shoulder before the victim reacted and tried to punch him. During the altercation, De La Rosa is seen kicking the victim on the head, causing him to lose consciousness and fall to the ground. While the victim was on the ground, De La Rosa kicked him again in the head and repeatedly punched him in the face before the two were separated and De La Rose left the location, according to the report.
De La Rosa is being held on $1,000 bond. He’ll appear in Marion County Court on July 10.