Handicapped man attacked by four men while on his bicycle

One adult and three juvenile men were arrested after a policeman was jogging and saw them attack a handicapped man in Lakeland on Thursday afternoon.

Lakeland police officer Adam Williams says he was jogging northbound on Success Avenue around 3 p.m. when he saw four young men crouched behind a brick wall at Lake Morton.

"They said, 'One, two, three and get him.' And they jumped out and attacked the guy on the bicycle, kind of ambushed him," said Williams. "One guy kind of clotheslined him or tried to swipe him off the bike with a backpack. They continued to chase him around the lake and then up South Boulevard. And that's when a Good Samaritan got between the attackers and the guy on the bike."

Williams says the group of four jumped out from behind the wall and ambushed Richard Werner, 20, an adult handicapped man who was riding his bicycle westbound around Lake Morton.

Williams says Werner yelled for help and tried to escape as the group attacked him, trying to pull him off of his bike and grab his backpack.

According to the police report, Good Samaritan Monica Gonzalez intervened and placed her car between the suspects and Werner and called the police for help.

The four suspects then fled on foot, with Williams monitoring their movement close behind them.

Williams says he found officer Bart Butler nearby and together, they found and arrested the three juveniles and Timothy Scott, 18.

All four men are being charged with abuse of a handicapped person.

Werner received minor injuries that are described as not life-threatening.