Tampa Police received numerous tips pointing the finger at Thomas and obtained a warrant for his arrest this week. On Friday morning, he turned himself into authorities.
The attack happened on August 13th behind the restaurant. A camera behind the establishment captured the incident. You see Thomas and two others approach Dustin Lee Lowe and then Thomas punches Lowe. The two other men then flip Lowe over and rifle through his pockets, stealing his belongings.
But Thomas contends what isn't pictured is what Lowe did prior to him throwing the punch. "Everything you see on that video ain't the truth," said Thomas from his front porch. "So, how about you tell the authorities to run the whole first video. " Thomas says Lowe was the aggressor and he and the others with him were simply reacting.
Police are still sorting out what happened and who is telling the truth about what happened. Officers arrested a second man on Monday, Hector Rivera-Reyes. He was not pictured in the video, but detectives believe he was there and was a participant. They are still trying to locate the other two men involved.
"If you look at the video you can see that they are fairly thin gentlemen who turn him over, I think he's unconscious at that point, and they go through his pockets," said TPD spokesman Steve Hegarty. "We're still looking for the two of them, yeah."
Both Thomas and Rivera-Reyes are facing robbery and felony battery charges.
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Javarez Thomas (left), Hector Rivera-Reyes (right). Photo courtesy of Tampa Police Department
News Channel 8 reached out to Lowe's father, who says his son is still recovering from his injuries. He finds it hard to believe the four men were defending themselves that night.
Copyright by WFLA - All rights reserved 
Copyright by WFLA - All rights reserved 
Copyright by WFLA - All rights reserved 