HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A father and son from New Jersey are each facing a felony charge in South Florida after police accused them of ganging up on an Uber driver at a Hallandale Beach hotel over the weekend, according to court documents released Wednesday.
Police said the incident happened Sunday evening at the Beachwalk Resort at 2602 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd.
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According to arrest reports, taxi passengers Frank Joseph Butrico, 61, and Frank Anthony Butrico, 26, got out of the cab after the Uber driver honked his horn at it while picking up passengers at the hotel.
The two got into a verbal spat with the rideshare driver, police said, then one of the men kicked his car.
That’s when the Uber driver got out of his car and the father-son pair pushed him against the car, placing their hands around his neck, “completely restricting the victim’s airway,” Hallandale Beach police Officer Alain Jean-Baptiste wrote in the report.
The Uber driver, who suffered scratches and red marks, punched one of the men in an attempt to defend himself from the attack before security intervened, police said.
According to police, surveillance and cellphone video confirmed the Uber driver’s account of the attack.
One of the men later admitted to kicking the vehicle but said he did not remember what happened afterwards, the report states.
A judge found probable cause to charge the Butricos, from Warren, New Jersey, with one count each of felony battery.
The pair each posted a $2,500 bond Monday, according to court records.