A Big Pine Key man was arrested on Wednesday after he punched an acquaintance for seemingly no reason, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Kurt Daniel Shufelt, 51, was charged with felony battery.
Around 7:47 a.m., a deputy was on patrol when the victim approached him and reported that he was just hit by a man as he was leaving a Tom Thumb store. The deputy noted that the victim had a “significant puncture wound” to the left corner of his mouth.
According to the victim, he was riding his bike away from the store when he passed Shufelt, whom the victim knows as an acquaintance. The victim stated he asked Shufelt why he punched him, and then left the scene to report the incident.
Deputies located Shufelt behind a Dumpster and asked him what happened. According to Shufelt, the victim instigated the incident by insulting him and purposely running into him with his bike. During his recounting of events, Shufelt changed his story several times, according to the report.
Deputies reviewed security footage from the nearby Tom Thumb, which showed Shufelt step out of his path of travel and punch the victim in the face as the victim passed him on his bike. The video showed the victim fall off his bike, get up, say something and then ride away.
Deputies placed Shufelt in custody and showed him the video, but Shufelt claimed it was not the “correct video,” according to the report. He denied striking the victim.
Shufelt was arrested and transported to the Monroe County Detention Center, where he was being held without bail.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
If you have information that could help solve a crime in the Florida Keys, call Crime Stoppers, 800-346-TIPS.