UPDATE Friday 12:34 p.m.:
A report from the Lee County Sheriff's Office says a tip given to Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers helped deputies catch the suspect.
The tip came in on May 6 and they said the suspect's vehicle was a blue Hyundai Sonata. The tipster said it was at an address they provided and they believed it was the suspect's girlfriend's car. However, no names were given.
The report says deputies got the address and went through license plate readers to track more evidence down regarding the car.
On May 7, witnesses of the beating confirmed the car in question was the car they saw the day of the incident.
According to the report, deputies talked to the car's owner on May 9. The report says she was "extremely uncooperative" and refused to provide a statement. However, she said she did not allow anyone to use the car.
Deputies say they got surveillance video from businesses in the area as they tracked the suspect's vehicle down. In one video, Garza was seen in it and getting in the vehicle. Investigators also noted he was wearing the same clothes as what as shown in the viral video.
On May 22, deputies tracked Garza down at Suncoast Arena and arrested him.
UPDATE Thursday evening:
Lee County deputies have identified and arrested the man accused of beating up two juveniles in front of a Fort Myers apartment complex.
Last month, a video of the altercation between 19-year-old Jorge Garza and the two victims went viral.
Garza is now facing two counts of child abuse.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is asking the public's help to identify a man who beat two children over the weekend at a Fort Myers apartment complex.
According to a Lee County Sheriff's Office incident report, the assault happened at the Millennium Apartment Complex off Three Oaks Parkway after two boys were throwing Play-Doh toward the street.
Hear what Trish Routte with SWFL Crime Stoppers says about the attack:
The victims told deputies they were throwing Play-Doh into the street when a blue car turned around and started chasing them. Crime Stoppers says the suspect was a passenger in the vehicle.
"You get mad, they do something that angers you, you get out, you have words, but then he made the conscious decision to take that to the next level which is completely unacceptable," said Trish Routte, with SWFL Crime Stoppers.
One of the children told deputies that he fell while running from the man, and that's when the suspect started punching him in the face and kicking him in the head.
Deputies say the second boy was punched in the hand before he ran to the apartment complex's office for help.
"People in the community are sharing this video, they are seeing this video, someone is going to know this guy and a lot of people are outraged," said Routte. "Even people who don't know these kids are outraged that a grown man would do this to two kids, and then just walk away and 48 hours later he is still getting away with it."
SWFL Crime Stoppers says the man is facing felony child abuse charges.
"The smart thing for that guy to do, would be to call the sheriff's office and turn himself in, because with all the shares and the tips that are coming in, it is only a matter of time before he gets identified," Routte said.
Authorities describe the suspect's vehicle as a blue four-door Honda with a pink heart sticker on the bumper.
Anyone with information about the suspect's identity is asked to call SWFL Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS.
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