POMPANO BEACH, FLORIDA: Jesse Montez Thorton II, 27, was arrested on Thursday, September 28, and booked into jail for an aggravated battery in July.
Thorton, who has been charged with aggravated assault with great bodily harm, was arrested from Fort Lauderdale.
The incident took place at the AMC Pompano Beach 18 theater at 2315 N Federal Highway.
Why was Jesse Montez Thorton II arrested?
Thorton is accused of brutally beating an elderly moviegoer, Marc Cohen, 63, after usurping his VIP seats at the AMC theater in Pompano Beach, Florida.
Another patron filmed the entire incident on their cellphone, which has now been released by the police.
Cohen pre-booked two movie tickets to watch a show on July 10. When he reached the theater, he saw Thorton and his female companion occupying the seats assigned to him.
Per Broward County Sheriff’s Office, when Cohen politely asked Thorton to vacate the seats, he was met with “hostile” behavior from Thorton.
The footage further shows Thorton got up and assaulted Cohen in his face. Cohen could not maintain his balance and fell down on the stairs.
However, Thornton still did not stop and continued punching Cohen.
Soon after, the assailant was seen fleeing away from the theater accompanied by the woman.
Cohen, who is a disabled veteran, recounted the incident to NBC 6 in July, saying, "This guy just kept staring at me instead of getting up.”
He added, "I said to the people at this point, who didn't apologize or say thank you, I said 'you guys can just keep the seats.'”
When he was walking away, Cohen recalled, “He said 'go run to your wife little boy.' So I turned around and I said 'you know I'm not the one who's being a little boy, you took my seats and you didn't apologize or you didn't say thank you and I let you keep them.'"
He said that is when Thorton became hostile and attacked him.
Cohen shared, "He jumped up, he wanted to fight me, he backed me up, I fell over the stairs and as soon as I fell down the stairs, it was like a boxer being against the ropes, this guy just went to town on me.”
Cohen added that his wife tried to stop the altercation in vain.
"I couldn't even get a defensive shot in," he said. "It happened so fast, he basically sucker-punched me is what he did."
He added, "I didnt think anybody would be stupid enough to actually start a fight like that in the movies.”
Cohen sustained a broken nose from the fight and received stitches from a local hospital.
What is Jesse Montez Thorton II's crime?
The police finally arrested Thorton on Thursday, September 28, from Fort Lauderdale after receiving an anonymous tip, per Daily Mail.
He faces one count of aggravated battery with great bodily harm. His bond amount has been fixed at $250,000.
Claudinne Caro of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said that the deputies worked on this case for months and added, “The video and information about this callous attack received national and international media attention and generated leads, including an anonymous tip through Broward Crime Stoppers.”
