“I had to teach them a lesson.”
BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — A Lake Worth man was arrested after Boca Raton Police said he grabbed juveniles, took a cellphone from one of them and threw it into bushes during a Sunday evening altercation near East Palmetto Park Road.
Jason Paul Norris, 46, was arrested in connection with the May 10 incident at 799 E. Palmetto Park Road in Boca Raton. Court and booking records list charges including two counts of robbery by sudden snatching without a firearm or weapon, battery and child abuse without great bodily harm.
The arrest report says Boca Raton Police responded around 7:21 p.m. after receiving a call about a physical altercation between an adult man and juveniles. The location listed in the report is along East Palmetto Park Road, east of Dixie Highway and west of the Intracoastal area.
Police said one juvenile told officers he was riding his bicycle when he saw a shirtless man, later identified as Norris, yelling at other juveniles on bicycles. The juvenile said Norris was yelling, “I’m going to beat you all.”
The juvenile began recording the confrontation on his cellphone. Police said Norris then turned around, grabbed the juvenile by both shoulders and caused him to lose his balance and fall off his bicycle. The juvenile reported a minor injury to his right wrist.
The report says Norris then took the cellphone from the juvenile’s hand and threw it into a nearby bush. The juvenile was able to retrieve the phone and continued trying to record the incident. Police said Norris again approached him, took the cellphone from his hand a second time and threw it into a bush again.
Investigators said Norris then began chasing a second juvenile who was riding a bicycle in the area.
A second victim told police that Norris had first been involved in a verbal altercation with another juvenile on a bicycle before approaching the first victim. Police said the second victim’s statement independently corroborated the first account. The second victim told officers Norris grabbed the first juvenile by both shoulders and took the cellphone from his hands on two separate occasions.
Police said Norris also chased the second juvenile and grabbed him by the right wrist, causing him to fall off his bicycle and suffer a minor injury to his right knee.
Before speaking with Norris, police said he was read his constitutional rights and agreed to talk. According to the arrest affidavit, Norris said there had been a verbal altercation between him and juveniles. Police said he admitted taking the phone from one juvenile’s hand and throwing it into a bush, but denied making physical contact with the victims and denied taking the phone a second time.
The affidavit says Norris told police, “It was a consequence to their actions” and “I had to teach them a lesson.”
Based on the victims’ sworn statements, video footage and Norris’ post-Miranda statement, police said they developed probable cause to arrest him.
Court docket records show Norris appeared for first appearance on May 11. The court found probable cause, found Norris indigent and entered no-contact orders involving the victims and minor children. Bond entries in the court record included amounts of $1,000 and $3,000, with one count listed as release on recognizance.
An arrest is not a conviction. The charges are allegations, and Norris is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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