A toddler begging his father for a candy bar in a Georgia grocery store’s checkout line wound up being smacked on the hand and his bottom by a total stranger, police say.
The two-year-old boy’s father, Logan Morris, told Fox 5 Atlanta that he was shocked at the incident that took place in a Kroger Supermarket in Newnan, because he said he did not think his child was acting out or misbehaving.
“He was saying, ‘Please Dad, I want a piece of candy,’” Morris said. “That’s my son, and at the end of the day, I’ll discipline him how I believe he needs to be disciplined.”
The father said the stranger told him after the spanking, “That’s how we do it in Mexico.” Morris told his son’s alleged attacker, “We are not in Mexico.”
Morris said the man tried to buy him a candy bar after smacking him three times, but he told the man “no.”
The father added that his son is well-behaved for his age and that his son was not hurt in the incident.
Newnan Police arrested Juan G. Martinez, 62, on charges of simple battery, disorderly conduct, and interfering with an officer.
Officers’ body camera footage from the incident showed Martinez allegedly swearing at officers and disobeying their commands.
Police were able to arrest Martinez after two minutes of trying to get handcuffs on him, describing him as having bloodshot eyes and wreaking of alcohol.
A Newnan Police Department spokesperson said that U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement is not yet involved in the case, but that Martinez’s case is being reviewed.
WYFF reported that Martinez is being held on $3,390 bond.