Players of Pokemon Go already know that controlling the gyms found around their local area is serious business, but a father and his adult son from St. Louis took it way too seriously and ended up being charged and convicted of felony third-degree assault.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 75 year-old Robert Matteuzzi and his 35 year-old son Angelo Matteuzzi were recorded assaulting a man at Kirkwood Park, which is where a reportedly hotly contested gym is located. The victim, identified by his in-game moniker Sammy the Bull, was fighting both men for the gym when Angelo “escalated” the situation by punching Sammy, causing the two to brawl into a five foot-deep lake at the park. Angelo’s father later jumped in and attempted to “dunk” Sammy in the lake.
By the end of it all Sammy suffered facial abrasions, a traumatic eye injury, a broken fingertip, and a detached fingernail. Most alarming is that this feud is cited by reporting as a long-running affair.
The trial for both Matteuzzis ended with the jury recommending three days of jail time and a fine for Robert and just a fine for Angelo. The lesson here is pretty simple: Don’t beat other people up over a freaking AR game.
