MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. (WOOD) — Police say the man who beat a 17-year-old and stripped the victim of his clothes during a robbery has been arrested.
Authorities say the victim was targeted because he is gay.
Muskegon Heights officers were called to the scene around 8 p.m. Saturday after getting calls of a naked male in the area of Edgewood School at East Summit Avenue and Howden Street. Police say the 17-year-old victim was lured to that area, which is where the beating happened. The suspect restrained him as he took his cellphone and clothes, according to the criminal complaint filed in court.
An officer found the naked teen walking to his aunt’s house. The victim was taken to the hospital by ambulance and has since been released.
Muskegon Heights Police Chief Joseph Thomas Jr. told 24 Hour News 8 the attack on the teen was recorded and posted on Facebook. Police determined from audio of that recording that the victim was beaten because he is gay. In the video, the attacker can be heard calling the victim gay and using the N-world and another expletive as he punched the victim.
Police used the video to identify the suspect as 18-year-old Trevon Lee Godbolt, Thomas said.
Michigan State Police arrested Godbolt on Blue Lake Road Tuesday night based on a tip from Silent Observer, the chief said.
Silent Observer was offering a reward of up to $500 for information leading to Godbolt’s arrest.
“Just knowing somebody like this is walking the streets, it bothers me. It bothers me deeply,” the chief said Tuesday afternoon, before Godbolt was taken into custody. “And I want to sleep well tonight, and we’re going to hunt him down, the animal he is.”
Godbolt faces charges of unarmed robbery and unlawful imprisonment, both 15-year felonies, for the assault.
Full Story on WOODTV8