A UCF student was arrested on Thursday night after allegedly beating and disfiguring another student on the steps of Millican Hall, officials said.
Matthew Cody Shehorn, 19, was arrested on felony battery charges after an altercation broke out in front of Millican Hall, the police report says. Witnesses told police that Shehorn and three other males were engaged in a verbal altercation with the victim that then turned physical, the police report says.
“The incident began when the victim accidentally stepped on one of the other men’s hands,” UCF police spokeswoman Courtney Gilmartin said. “It was a mistake that escalated to a fight.”
UCF Police Department Officer Timothy Isaacs responded to the scene where he saw small pools of blood surrounding the victim in front of Millican Hall where the victim was sitting and bleeding profusely from his face, the report says.
Witnesses told Isaacs that the victim was knocked unconscious and beaten while he laid on the stairs, the police report states.
“The witnesses told me that (Shehorn)… continually ‘stomped’ and ‘kicked’ the victim’s head into the stairs multiple times,” Isaacs wrote in the report. “The witnesses indicated in both sworn oral and written statements that they were in fear for the victim’s life and that they thought the amount of force that was used in delivering each kick to the victim’s head was adequate to cause the victim’s death.”
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Based on witnesses’ descriptions of the suspects, UCFPD was able to find the four suspects, who fled on foot after the alleged incident. The suspects were questioned and, based on their statements and witness accounts, it was determined that Shehorn and another of the suspects, Ryan Deprisco, 19, were responsible for the physical harm to the victim. Witnesses said Deprisco, who is not a UCF student, was an active participant in the beating but not the primary aggressor of the incident. Both suspects were arrested on the third degree charges.
The victim was transported to the hospital to receive treatment for the severe wounds. The police report states that the victim had multiple face fractures, broken teeth, a broken nose and was spitting up blood hours after the incident took place. The victim told police that he intends on pressing charges for the crimes, the report says.
“The victim is out of the hospital, on the road to recovery and speaking with detectives,” Gilmartin said. “The investigation remains open as UCFPD pursues charges with the state.”
