Cinderella Castle and Main Street, U.S.A. are seen at Walt Disney World Resort’s Magic Kingdom on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP). Inset: Brent George (Orange County Corrections Dept.).
An Ohio man is facing assault charges in Florida after a brawl at a Disney World resort that was allegedly sparked when he made fun of a woman with Down syndrome.
Brent George, 61, was arrested in January following an altercation at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort in Orlando. According to a probable cause affidavit, police were called to the Belle Vue Lounge, a “small bar area” at the resort, where George had apparently been drinking with his wife and two friends on Jan. 25.
“Brent had three shots of bourbon and a beer while at the bar,” the affidavit noted.
The officer identified as victims Candace Boyette Goldberg, Wesley Goldberg, Maria Ayalde, and Richard Goldberg.
“With them was an unnamed sister of Wesley and daughter of Candace who is handicapped, has Down syndrome, and is wheelchair bound,” the officer wrote in the affidavit.
George said that he “went over to the area where the victims were, but did not remember anything specific due to being intoxicated,” the affidavit says — although he did apparently recall that he was “having a ‘good time’ with the individuals and then he was attacked by them.”
That attack, George allegedly said, included being hit in the face with a glass drinking cup, and despite being unable to recall any other details and not being able to identify who hit him, he said he wanted to press charges.
George’s friend Ward Weber, meanwhile, said that he saw George “walk over to the victim’s table because they were ‘having fun.’”
Ward told the officer that he saw someone throw a glass cup at George, resulting in George bleeding from the upper left side of his face.
“He stated Brent was defending himself and heard someone say that they wanted to kill him,” the affidavit said before noting that Weber “did not observe what led up to the confrontation and did not hear anything said between Brent and the other party.”
The victims, meanwhile, offered a somewhat different — and more detailed — set of facts.
“Wesley stated verbally and in a sworn written statement that Brent came near their table and started to make fun of his handicapped sister by imitating the grunts that she occasionally made,” the affidavit said.
Things escalated from there into an all-out melee. According to the affidavit:
Candace stood up and confronted him by asking if Brent was making fun of her daughter. Brent stood up and physically shoved Candace back two times. He then slapped Maria across her face when she got up to intervene and protect Candace. After slapping Maria, her husband Wesley got involved. Wesley was punched on the left side of his neck, and proceeded to punch Brent on the side of his head, resulting in the injury Brent sustained … At this point, an unnamed bystander grabbed Brent in a bear hug and removed him from the scene.
The affidavit noted that there was no broken glass found at the scene and “it is believed no glass cup was utilized in this incident.”
A handcuffed George was taken into custody, although jail staff initially refused to take him in due to his injuries, “believing he may have a facial fracture,” the affidavit says.
George was ultimately booked into the corrections center after being evaluated and medically cleared, the affidavit says. He posted bond the next day.
George was charged with four counts of first-degree battery, a misdemeanor. He has pleaded not guilty. The case docket does not indicate an upcoming hearing.
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