A man kicked out of a theme park after a dispute over face masks won’t be prosecuted in a brawl with his girlfriend stemming from that incident.
State Attorney Brad King last month in Lake County Court announced that no information would be filed in the case of 34-year-old Matthew Simonds who had been facing a felony charge of battery by strangulation.
Simonds, his girlfriend and other friends had visited Busch Gardens theme park in Tampa Bay on Sept. 26, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department.
“After consuming too much alcohol, an argument started over wearing masks in public,” the report said.
Security was called and the New York native and his lady friend “were escorted from the park due to the argument.”
The couple returned to their home at 706 James Ave. in Fruitland Park where their argument continued. When Simonds’ girlfriend walked out of the bathroom, he “grabbed her from behind and started to choke her.”
However, the state attorney’s office found the evidence would not support a conviction.
“In a light most favorable to the state, there is insufficient evidence to prove one or more elements of the crime charged. Although the evidence is legally sufficient for a lesser offense, the facts of the case make conviction at trial unlikely,” King wrote in the announcement.