A 70-year-old Florida man is now facing felony charges after authorities say he grabbed a 13-year-old boy by the throat, squeezed hard enough to leave visible finger-shaped bruises, and then hurled the teen’s phone into a lake — all because two kids were cutting through his backyard.
Kyle Riva, of Seminole County, has been charged with third-degree battery by strangulation, third-degree robbery by sudden snatching, and misdemeanor property damage, according to court records. The incident took place Monday evening at around 7:10 p.m. on Tigua Island Court, a residential street just northeast of Orlando.
According to an arrest report, a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old were walking through Riva’s backyard when his wife stepped outside and asked them to leave. The 13-year-old cursed at her. She went back inside and told her husband.
That’s when things turned violent. Riva came out of his home “angry,” according to the document. The teen, sensing danger, pulled out his phone and started recording. Rather than back off, Riva allegedly approached the boy aggressively, grabbed him by the neck, and began to squeeze.
He then snatched the phone directly from the teen’s hands and threw it into Lake Antigua, which runs along the back of the property.
After the incident, both boys returned to the older teen’s home, where his father urged them to call 911. When deputies arrived, they documented bruising on the boy’s throat that, according to the report, clearly showed the impressions of fingers wrapped around his neck.
Riva made his first court appearance Tuesday and has since been released from Seminole County Jail. He is scheduled to return to court for arraignment on August 25.
Authorities have not released a statement on whether additional charges are being considered.
