A Wildwood teen was arrested for battery after allegedly putting on a mask to punch a coworker over borrowed AirPods.
An officer responded to Target, located at 5580 Seven Mile Dr., for a physical disturbance involving 18-year-old Emmanuel Joseph Nicolas around 7:25 p.m. Sunday, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department.
Upon arrival, the officer met with one of Nicolas’ coworkers in front of the store. She stated the incident started when she let Nicolas borrow her AirPods. When she asked for them back, he told her that he did not have them, the report said.
They talked about it, but he still claimed to not have them, so she walked away to finish her job. She confronted him again and saw the AirPods in his pocket, deciding to take them and walk away. She had gone on break, and he started following her when she came back inside to keep working, the report said.
When Nicolas caught up to the coworker, he told her to give him his AirPods. She refused, and he punched the left side of her neck with his right hand. He proceeded to push her, grab her and dig in her pockets to get the AirPods back, so she ran out of the store without her work vest or car keys, the report said.
The report noted that when the officer spoke to the coworker, he saw parallel red and white markings on the left side of her neck. These were consistent with being struck by the first two knuckles of a closed fist.
Another employee who saw the altercation advised that when Nicolas walked into the store, he walked past her and told her to let him know if she saw the coworker. She continued to do her work for the night until she saw the coworker. She quietly told the coworker, while pointing at her, to come to her, the report said.
At the time, Nicolas was following the coworker with a balaclava mask on. The employee told her what was happening, and when Nicolas got to them, he asked where his AirPods were. The coworker said she did not know, and he punched her so she almost fell over. He constantly hit the coworker as she ran to find a supervisor, the report said.
Another employee was on break when Nicolas told him to let him know if he saw the coworker. He later saw Nicolas put on a dark-color mask where only his eyes were visible before walking toward the coworker. Nicolas then punched the coworker, and the employee ran to guest services to find help, the report said.
At about 10:35 p.m., several officers went to Nicolas’s residence, located at 5226 Dragonfly Drive, to find him. One of the officers went around the back into the unfenced backyard and saw Nicolas sitting on the couch playing video games through the rear sliding glass door. Other officers called his mother, the homeowner, and asked her to step outside to talk, the report said.
His mother initially advised that he was not home. The officers explained the latest developments in the investigation and that the charges were now a felony, to which she gave them permission to enter the home. They tried to detain Nicolas in handcuffs while he was seated, but he resisted by pulling his arms forward instead of behind his back, the report said.
The officers pulled him to his feet and forced his arms back until they successfully handcuffed him. He was taken out to a patrol car to be searched where he refused to spread his feet multiple times. He also invoked his rights and refused to answer any questions, the report said.
A criminal history check revealed Nicolas did not have prior battery convictions but was currently out on bond for a separate battery case, the report said.
Nicolas was charged with felony battery, battery and resist officer (obstruct without violence). He was transported to the Sumter County Detention Center to be held without bond.