Sheriff's Office: Florida Man Beats Elderly Golfer He Tried Stealing Golf Balls From

OCALA (CBSMiami/AP) — The Marion County Sheriff's Office has a arrested a Florida man they said beat an elderly golfer he tried stealing golf balls from.

The sheriff's office said 22-year-old Tyler Dearden was taking golf balls from a golfer's bucket at a club in Ocala.

News outlets said the golfer told him not to do that, and went to report him. An affidavit said that when he returned, Dearden came up to him and stated he wanted to apologize, but he punched him and knocked him to the ground.

Dearden told deputies he was defending himself because the golfer threatened him by pointing a golf club at him.

The golfer suffered from a broken rib, bruises and cuts that required stitches.

Dearden remained in jail Sunday on a $10,000 bond, and no attorney was listed in jail records.

He was charged with aggravated battery on a person 65 years or older for Wednesday's incident.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)