BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — Two Boca Raton men are facing criminal charges after a confrontation with a 13-year-old boy inside the Lotus residential community, where Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office records say the boy was followed, struck with a water bottle and had his phone taken during an April encounter.
The case involves Mitchell Schuman, 62, and Ari David Brooks, 53, both listed in court and booking records with Boca Raton addresses. Court records show the case was moved into felony court in May after additional review by investigators and the State Attorney’s Office.
The incident happened April 3 near Paradise Bay Avenue and Five Waters Avenue, an area listed in the records as Boca Raton. The PBSO report also describes Lotus as a residential community in unincorporated Palm Beach County.
Schuman, originally from Queens, NY, was originally issued a notice to appear on a misdemeanor battery charge. Court records later show a felony case filed against him with charges including robbery by sudden snatching without a firearm or weapon, battery, petit theft and criminal mischief. Brooks was later charged in a separate felony case with robbery by sudden snatching and battery.
The case began when deputies were sent to the community for a battery report. Records say Schuman told a deputy he had seen a juvenile doing wheelies on an e-bike down the main road of the community. Schuman told the deputy he asked the boy to stop and go to security with him, but the juvenile refused to answer questions and began recording him on a cellphone.
Schuman told PBSO he followed the juvenile on his bicycle while blowing a whistle and asking him to stop. He said he fell off his bike while following the boy and that the juvenile laughed at him. Schuman told the deputy he then threw a water bottle from about 10 feet away, striking the juvenile’s phone and knocking it from his hand. He also said he picked up the phone and told the boy to go locate security personnel with him.
The deputy wrote that Schuman confirmed he did not work for security and was not law enforcement.
The juvenile gave a different account. He told PBSO he was riding his bike to his father’s residence in Lotus to retrieve clothes when an adult male in a blue shirt, later identified as Schuman, began yelling at him. The boy said he pulled over, then ignored Schuman and rode away.
The boy told deputies Schuman chased him on the roadway, and that he began recording the interaction on his phone. He said Schuman tried to grab the phone twice, then threw a water bottle at him, hitting him on the side of the stomach and causing the phone to fall to the ground. The boy told PBSO Schuman picked up the phone and pushed him off his bike. He said he felt threatened and tried to defend himself while trying to get the phone back.
PBSO records say the deputy reviewed the boy’s cellphone video. The video showed Schuman chasing the boy on a bicycle, demanding that he go to security and asking where he lived and what his name was. The video also showed Schuman falling from his bike while the boy laughed, then throwing a water bottle toward the boy and knocking the phone from his hand, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Investigators later reviewed additional video evidence. In a separate probable cause affidavit, PBSO wrote that Brooks was seen wearing a black shirt, light-colored shorts and black-and-white sneakers. Investigators said Brooks was observed multiple times pulling the boy away and restraining him. The affidavit says Brooks was also seen taking the phone, walking away toward the street, withholding it and later returning it before grabbing the boy again as he tried to get the phone back.
Court dockets show Schuman’s case was transferred from misdemeanor court to felony court on May 6. Brooks’ felony case was also filed May 6. Booking records provided in the case materials show Schuman was booked May 12 and released later that day on surety bond. Brooks was booked May 13 and also released later that day on surety bond.
Both cases remain pending. The charges are accusations, and court records reviewed for this story do not show a conviction in either case.
This case is one of several West Boca arrests reported by deputies in recent weeks.
