A local dentist has entered a plea in an alleged golf club beating at Harbor Hills Country Club.
Dr. Eddie Cha Orobitg entered a plea of not guilty on Wednesday to a felony charge of aggravated battery in Lake County Court. He remains free on $5,000 bond.
Orobitg was apparently enraged Sunday afternoon when he was golfing at Harbor Hills in Lady Lake when a husband and wife walked near him on the golf cart path, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Orobitg told the couple they were not supposed to walk on the golf course path “as it is intended for golf carts and it is a rule of the golf course,” the report said.
The native of Korea who served as a dental officer with the U.S. Navy at the submarine base in Kings Bay, Ga. hit the man on the leg with his golf club. The man tried to defend himself with a water bottle, but Orobitg continued to strike him with the golf club.
By the time deputies arrived on the scene, the man was covered with blood. EMS personnel determined the man had suffered potentially broken ribs, a potentially broken jaw, a ripped earlobe and possibly a traumatic brain injury. He was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. The man’s wife corroborated his version of the story.
Orobitg’s juvenile son said his father had asked the couple to get out of his way. The son said the man “got into his father’s face” and a verbal altercation broke out. He said his father spit in the man’s face. The other man spit back and pushing began. The son said that was when his father “accidentally” struck the man with his golf club.
The deputy who wrote the arrest report noted that Orobitg did not have any injuries other than a cut on his hand. There was blood on his clothes and golf clubs.
Orobitg, a resident of Harbor Hills, has a dental office in Leesburg.
