Disabled Navy Vet Beaten Protecting 'Defenseless' Turtle

DAYTONA, FL — A disabled Navy veteran was beaten by two men and a teenager after he tried to save a "defenseless" turtle that was being killed during a Valentine's Day attack that unfolded in front of his horrified toddler and wife.

Despite the best efforts of Garry Blough, the turtle was found by Daytona police floating upside down and lifeless in a nearby pond following the attack that took place outside Blough's apartment in the 1700 block of Mason Avenue in Daytona.

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"You don't hit a child. You don't hit a woman and you don't hit an animal in front of me," Blough told a local television news crew.

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Blough's wife Jennifer told Patch on Thursday that she now has to stay home to care for her husband and their 1-and-a-half year old daughter, Symphony. The couple faces mounting medical bills, and Blough will probably need an eye operation as a result of the incident.

Jennifer Blough started a GoFundMe page, which had already raised about $10,000 as of early Thursday evening. In addition, three local car dealerships called to help the couple with their transportation needs and in one case make a donation.

"I'm very proud of him," she said of her husband of two years. "But, he missed a good dinner that I cooked for him on Valentine's Day." She instead took her husband to the mall on Thursday night to enjoy his favorite meal: pizza.

Police charged Blough's neighbor, 18-year-old Johnnie J. Beveritt, and two others, 23-year-old Ryan Ponder and a 16-year-old boy, with aggravated battery and animal cruelty.

Blough told police that he saw the turtle being attacked from his home and came outside "pleading" with the three to stop hurting the turtle while his wife summoned Daytona police.

"One of the males, later identified as Johnnie Beveritt ... lifted the turtle with both hands above his head and threw it down onto the concrete sidewalk," according to Daytona police documents. "The two other males ... were observed kicking the badly injured turtle towards the apartment building and away from the pond."

That's when the three turned on Blough, who already had to use a walker or a cane to get around since he was caught up in an explosion during the Gulf War.

But the former sailor held his ground, suffering a severely injured right eye and a large contusion on the back of his head, according to Daytona police, who said that Blough may have suffered a broken skull and facial bones along with internal bleeding in the attack.

Jennifer Blough said her husband would make the same choice to defend the animal again if he came across similar circumstances.

"He doesn’t want anyone to get harmed," she told Patch. "He doesn’t want little kids to go outside and be afraid."

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Blough