Dec 6
Florida Man Gets Probation for Choking and Beating Girlfriend after Being Seated Next to a Gay Couple at a Restaurant
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Florida sugar heir Alexander Nicholas "Nico" Fanjul received four years' probation for a violent attack on his girlfriend after they were seated next to gay diners at a restaurant last January.
UK newspaper the Independent reported that police arrested Fanjul after responding to a domestic disturbance call and finding him "standing over his girlfriend" with "drops and trails of blood" marking a trail "from where the victim said she was dragged."
The scene of the violent outburst was one of chaos: "Chairs had also been flipped upside down, carpets were out of place and many other items had been knocked over or thrown onto the floor, the officer said in arrest documents," the Independent relayed.
As EDGE previously reported, according to police, Fanjul "was allegedly upset after being sat next to a gay couple at a restaurant.... When his dinner date suggested that he 'drop the subject,' (per People Magazine), Fanjul reportedly got enraged and assaulted her when they got back home."
Police bodycam video documented the scene, the Independent said, as well as the comments of one of the responding officers, who said that the victim was "beat up pretty good."
The 39-year-old "is of the family that owns the Florida Crystals, one of the largest sugar producers in the country," the EDGE article noted.
The Independent relayed that "the victim told police Fanjul choked her around the neck to the point where she struggled to breathe," and that she "had bruises and redness around her neck consistent with her account."
"Fanjul was arrested and charged with seven counts including false imprisonment, petit theft, felony battery, tampering with a witness, victim or informant, battery, criminal mischief and the possession of cocaine, Palm Beach County court records show," the site said.
"He pleaded guilty on November 4 to petit theft, criminal mischief, and felony battery, with the court withholding adjudication of that final charge."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
