PUNTA GORDA, Fla — The attorney for Punta Gorda boater, Gage Towles, asked people to tone down the rhetoric after video of his client being attacked on his boat went viral.
Steven Leskovich said, "we respectfully request that all threats to Brock Horner's family and associates cease."
"While no boater, no fisherman, no person should ever have to endear the experience that Mr. Towles went through and the emotional aftermath that has followed, Mr. Horner's actions will be dealt with through the appropriate channels of the criminal justice system."
The viral video — viewed millions of times — showed Horner yelling at 22-year-old Towles. It also showed him jumping into the boat.
At a news conference Saturday, Punta Gorda Police Chief Pam Smith said Horner was arrested Friday night in Port Charlotte. She said the confrontation stemmed from an incident two days earlier, when Horner accused Towles of boating without lights before sunrise.
Court records show Horner paid his $20,000 bond on Saturday and left jail. He'll be in court again for an arraignment on May 5.
Horner is charged with first-degree felony - burglary with assault or battery.
Read the entire statement here:
