Daytona Beach, FL - The Citrus County man arrested over the summer for beating up a partially blind and mentally handicapped man dressed as a Minion for his job on Daytona Beach's Main Street gets 10 days behind bars for it.
26-year-old Ryan C. Nihart of Homosassa entered a guilty plea in open court on Monday (January 28th) to misdemeanor battery and criminal mischief in front of Volusia County Judge Belle Schumann.
Spencer Hathaway - a spokesperson for Florida 7th Circuit State Attorney R.J. Larizza - says Nihart will also have to serve a year of probation, pay over $300 in restitution and enroll in a moral recognition therapy course.
"Nihart had faced a maximum possible sentence of one year in the [Volusia County] jail," Hathaway noted. "He was remanded immediately."
Nihart attacked the 41-year-old victim last July 8th outside of George’s Jungle on Main Street in the hopes that it would go viral on social media. The victim was wearing a Minion costume from the movie "Despicable Me" that day to attract customers to the business.
Prosecutors say Nihart attacked the man in the costume without his consent and that security video from the store captured the attack, as did cell phone video.
The victim suffered minor injuries but declined medical attention from paramedics, according to the arrest report. It also noted that the costume itself was destroyed.
