Facebook/mugshot Jason Lata
Police say Jason Lata is the suspect accused of punching a person in an assault captured on video at a Denton, Texas, Buc-ee’s. The video has gone viral. You can watch the video below, but be aware that it contains graphic language and captures the moment that police say Lata felled another man with a single punch.
“I’ll ask you homeboy. I’ll f*cking eat your face off mother f*cker. You want a f*cking piece. Turn it off. I’ll f*ck you up,” a man police say they have now identified as Jason Lata says in the video. He then punched a man with a flag, although it was hard to see what the flag said.
The exact reason the altercation ignited and what the victim was doing are not entirely clear, but the victim did tell police that an argument ensued with supporters of President Donald Trump at the Buc-ee’s. The Dallas News reported that “The original tweet says that the incident occurred at a rally” but that was not confirmed or denied by police.
The victim is wearing a mask and glasses in the video. The man police say is Lata is seen screaming in the man’s face at close range without a mask.
However, TMZ reported that “the video shows a couple of maskless Trump supporters telling another man to beat it and stop playing YG’s political anthem on repeat.” The song contains the words “F**k Donald Trump.”
Here’s what you need to know:
A Second Man Is Also Seen in the Video But He Doesn’t Punch Anyone
A second man with an American flag on his T-shirt says in the video, “You guys shouldn’t be here, bud.” It’s not 100 percent clear whether anything to do with Trump sparked the argument, though, because the police report doesn’t say what sparked it. The Dallas News reported that the second man was wearing “a grey hat and black ‘Trump 2020’ shirt.”
According to a press release from Denton police, at approximately 12:40 p.m. on Saturday, Octover 3, officers “were dispatched to a local hospital regarding an assault that occurred in the 2800 block of S. I-35E. A male reported he was assaulted by an unknown male at Buc-ee’s.”
The victim “told officers that he and a friend observed supporters of President Donald Trump at the location. A verbal argument ensued, and the victim said an unknown male then punched him in the face,” the release states. “Officers observed an abrasion below the victim’s right eyebrow. He also had a broken tooth. The unknown male was last seen in a dark-colored Dodge Ram.”
Denton police confirmed they received “the video of this incident that has circulated on social media. Anyone who witnessed this incident or has additional information to share with investigators is asked to call (940) 349-8181.”
Jason Lata Is Not From Denton
Police confirmed that Lata is not from Denton, although it’s not clear what he was doing there.
“He was not on scene when officers arrived on the initial call, and he is not a resident of Denton. We will update when he is in custody,” Chief Frank Dixon said on Twitter. The chief also wrote, “Because this was one of many meet-up locations in the DFW area, it is unknown at this time if the suspect is from Denton or surrounding area.” Records show that the suspect is from Flower Mound.
Police photoJason Lata
In an updated news release, police revealed, “The suspect in today’s assault is in custody. Jason Lata, 44, was arrested after Denton PD detectives obtained an arrest warrant for assault causes bodily injury. Lata is currently in the City of Denton Jail. Bail is set at $15,000.”
They also released a picture of Lata, which you can see above.
Online records show that Lata is 44 years old. His Facebook page appears to have been deleted. An old profile picture of him that has now been deleted showed him wearing a baseball hat with an American flag filter over the photo. This post will be updated when more is learned about Lata, including his place of employment.
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