Man arrested for unprovoked attack on patron at The Top

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

Patrick Steven Lyons, 23, was arrested yesterday morning after the staff at The Top (30 N. Main St) reported that a customer had been attacked.

The victim told a Gainesville Police Department officer that he had been suddenly punched in the face while he was at the pool table. He said he was punched at least three times and did not know his attacker or why he was attacked. After being transported to the hospital, he told officers that his lip was completed ruptured and could not be repaired with stitches; he said medical staff told him he would need plastic surgery.

A witness at The Top said he had met the attacker at the bar and that the man had identified himself as “Patrick.” The witness said he and a friend had been playing pool earlier with Patrick, then they had all left the pool table to eat at the bar. While they were eating, Patrick reportedly asked the witness, “If I go over and punch this dude, will you bail me out?” The witness was “adamant” that the attack was unprovoked and that Patrick was very intoxicated. He gave a description of the attacker to officers.

Officers made contact with a man who matched the description of the attacker and was wandering eastbound in the westbound lane of NE 39th Avenue after receiving multiple calls about a person in the roadway. The man, identified as Lyons, reportedly told officers he had been drinking all day and had gone to several bars. Post Miranda, he reportedly told officers that he was in a fight at the bar over a pool table.

Lyons, whose address is listed as Okeechobee, is being held on $2,500 bail.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.