Crestview teen faces aggravated battery, associated charges in 2015 attack

Gabriel Simon

CRESTVIEW — A Crestview teenager faces charges of aggravated battery and burglary with assault for an attack that occurred July 26, 2015, according to an Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office media release.

The 32-year-old victim told police the attack occurred at her Brown Place, Crestview home as she unloaded groceries. She said an individual attacked her and tried to shove her into the trunk of her car. According to the media release, she suffered cuts, abrasions, multiple broken bones, and a concussion.

"She told deputies the suspect first stood at the end of her driveway and asked if she needed help with her groceries and she told him no. She says he then charged her and tried to push her into the trunk, but she was able to force her way out as he punched her repeatedly in the back of the head and pulled her hair," the release stated.

"The woman was finally able to get free and run to a neighbor’s home. A witness who heard the victim’s screams responded to help her and then saw a black male running west on Brown Place.

"The victim worked with an OCSO Crime Scene Technician in September 2015 to put together a composite sketch of the attacker."

The media release further states, "In October 2015 while walking her dog, the victim spotted the suspect, later identified as 17-year-old Gabriel Simon, outside his home at 404 Brown Place and immediately contacted law enforcement. She later also picked the defendant out of a photographic line-up, saying she would never forget his face."

After receiving the results of forensics back from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Simon was arrested July 14 and taken to the Department of Juvenile Justice Regional Detention Center in Crestview, the release stated.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview teen faces aggravated battery, associated charges in 2015 attack