Authorities released a video this weekend of four Wisconsin teens allegedly carjacking a vehicle and then punching its owner to the ground in a Milwaukee parking lot.
Surveillance footage of the incident released this weekend showed the four suspects — ages 15, 16, 17, and 18 — beat Lewis Lea, a 43-year-old father waiting to pick up his son from soccer practice at a local park in May, authorities report.
The 45-second video of the incident captured the four youngsters dressed in hoodies loitering around the parking lot before one teen opened the driver’s side door of Lea’s car, and another opened the passenger side door.
When Lea got out of his seat, one of the teens allegedly punched Lea in the head before another teen in the passenger’s seat of the vehicle allegedly threw a punch at Lea’s face.
After several blows, Lea was knocked to the concrete and fell unconscious. Seconds later, three teens piled into the car and drove off while one small teenager remained behind. The young teen then ran off into a grassy area.
A local woman later discovered the victim bleeding on the ground before he was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Lea suffered lacerations to his face and head.
“I kind of don’t remember anything after that because I was hit in the back of the head and left unconscious,” Lea told WISN, recalling the incident.
Milwaukee County Sheriff Richard Schmidt said authorities arrested the 17-year-old last week after he led authorities on a car chase and then arrested his accomplices after looking at the surveillance video. Each of the suspects faces multiple charges. The 17-year-old also faces a felony charge of bail jumping from a burglary case in April.
“This isn’t the slap on the wrist, we’ll put them in community service,” said Schmidt. “They need to spend some time paying for what they did, and this was a horrific crime.”
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