Deputies with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station announced Tuesday they had arrested a 46-year-old Palmdale man in connection to a fight he was involved in with a teen last week in Valencia.
The fight, which was recorded and shared across various social media platforms and garnered national attention, is believed to have involved the 46-year-old man and a Rio Norte Junior High School student and took place in front of Havana Savannah, a coffee shop on the 24000 block of Copper Hill Drive in Valencia.
“On Tuesday, Aug. 23, an arrest was made pertaining to the altercation. Regan Coultas, 46, of Palmdale was arrested for felony child abuse,” said Deputy Natalie Arriaga, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, in a statement distributed on the same day as the arrest. “He was booked into the Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Station and remains in custody at this time.”
In the video, Coultas and the teen are seen rolling around on the ground, wrestling with one another while people in the background can be heard screaming “go get someone,” “get off” and “you’re choking him” while the man is on top of the teenager.
Chase Devoll, the teen who recorded the now-viral video, confirmed to The Signal that he, his friends and his classmate involved in the fight regularly visit the Circle K after school and on their route home from campus.
“The guy took it really too far and then said, ‘I’ll be back,’” said Devoll.
The Circle K had reached full capacity, according to Devoll, and the group had started pushing their friends. The boy who would become involved in the fight with the man had accidentally been pushed into the man and the man became very irritated, Devoll said. The boy bantered with the man as his aggression grew.
The man, Devoll alleged, followed the kids, ultimately catching up to the teen and throwing him on the ground. That is when the brawl began, according to the Rio Norte student.
Eventually, the two were broken up and, according to Arriaga, Coultas allegedly left the scene before deputies could arrive.
He is now being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to law enforcement officials.
Detectives say they are continuing with their investigation into the incident. Anyone with information has been asked to contact the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station at 661-260-4000. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling “LA Crime Stoppers” at 800-222-TIPS (8477), or by visiting www.LACrimeStoppers.org.
