A 31-year-old man was arrested Tuesday evening after police say he assaulted a stranger in downtown St. Augustine and later fought with officers.
According to an arrest report from the St. Augustine Police Department, officers responded around 5:51 p.m. on New Year’s Eve to West Castillo Drive and San Marco Avenue near Ripley’s Believe it or Not following a reported battery.
Witnesses told police that a white male wearing jeans and a greenish-gray jacket had punched another man and fled south toward St. George Street.
The victim, identified as a 28-year-old from Savannah, Georgia, told officers he had been walking with family members when the suspect began following them and making comments.
Police say the suspect asked what family they were from and then accused the victim of shooting his father.
Investigators noted that the victim and the suspect were complete strangers and had no prior contact that day.
According to the report, the suspect grabbed him by the arm and punched him in the right eye with a closed fist, causing visible bruising and swelling.
He was evaluated by emergency responders at the scene and declined further treatment. He later stated he wished to press charges.
A witness was able to take a photograph of the suspect from behind, which police say helped them identify the individual as Dakota Lee Houston, a 31-year-old homeless veteran known to officers in the area.
Officers located Houston shortly afterward near the intersection of St. George Street and Cathedral Place.
Police say that when officers tried to detain him, Houston pulled away and resisted.
During an attempted takedown, Houston allegedly struck one officer on the side of the head. Officers reported that Houston continued to resist on the ground by tucking his hands under his torso and refusing commands before he was eventually secured.
A show-up identification was conducted, during which the victim identified Houston as the man who punched him.
Houston later admitted confronting the victim because he believed the victim was responsible for shooting his father, according to police.
He was arrested and booked into the St. Johns County Jail on charges of battery causing bodily harm, a misdemeanor, and resisting an officer with violence, a felony.
Jail records show he was booked at approximately 7:19 p.m.
He has two prior misdemeanor theft arrests in St. Johns County from this past October, along with a 2023 theft conviction in Portland, Oregon, records show.
