Martin County Sheriff’s Office
Two Florida men are facing charges for allegedly beating a 61-year-old man in front of his wife and grandchildren at a gas station because he honked his horn, officials said.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that the incident at the Cumberland Farms gas station on Federal Highway in Hobe Sound began on Friday afternoon when the victim, who was towing a large pontoon boat, pulled in with his wife and grandchildren. After waiting for an “extended period,’ the victim honked his horn at a truck that had been blocking the fuel line.
That honk prompted a verbal assault that escalated into violence. Shane Thomas Blois, 49, allegedly struck the victim repeatedly “throughout his body” with a rubber mallet. The suspect’s brother, Erick R. Blois, then arrived at the scene in a separate vehicle and allegedly “joined in the battery,” according to the sheriff’s office…