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Teen Gets Reduced Charge In Taped Beating

People Watched, Cheered Random Beating

POSTED: Thursday, January 9, 2003
UPDATED: 5:02 am EST January 10, 2003

A Brevard County, Fla., teen was formally charged with battery as a juvenile Thursday in the November beating of a stranger that was caught on home video, according to Local 6 News.

See The Filmed Beating

Police said that Michael Lasher punched and kicked a Titusville man while others watched and cheered the beating. The attack was similar to a scene in "Jackass: The Movie," a compilation of filmed stunts that some blame for the death of a New Mexico teen last year. On the Titusville tape, a male who police said is Lasher picks out Matthew Dillingham as he stands in a park, makes two air kisses into the camera and laughs, "I'm going to whup that kid's ass over there." The attacker then jumps Dillingham, hits and kicks him, and throws him to the ground as about a dozen people cheer. One person swung a long pole toward Dillingham, but did not connect. Dillingham suffered minor injuries and his skateboard was stolen. "It was hard dealing with about 15 to 20 people standing around laughing," Dillingham said in an earlier Local 6 News report. "Most people would have broken up the fight. There was an adult who was just smiling." Local 6 News reported that many people were surprised Thursday that Lasher did not receive a harsher sentence. Prosecutors said that battery was the harshest charge the law allowed in the case. Lasher will have another court date Feb. 5 in juvenile court. He has been released from the juvenile detention center and is back home. Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

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