Man Beats Person to Death Outside Strip Club, Police Say

A man has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal beating of a man outside a gentleman's club in Florida.

Jesus Torres, of Crescent City, is facing a second-degree murder charge, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

The 43-year-old was arrested in Flagler County on Wednesday afternoon, the sheriff's office said, after deputies spent three days working to track the man down.

The sheriff's office said the victim, 44-year-old Vicente Alejo Verdel, of DeLeon Springs, was discovered unresponsive in the parking lot of Dixie's Gentlemen's Club near DeLand on Saturday night.

Deputies arrived at the scene at 8 p.m. and he was pronounced dead a short time later, the sheriff's office said.

According to an affidavit obtained by Newsweek, witnesses told detectives that an altercation between Torres and Alejo Verdel and his friend had started inside the club, and then moved outside.

Surveillance video footage showed Torres was sitting near the stage watching dancers perform when Alejo Verdel and a friend approached, the affidavit said.

At one point, Torres stood up and struck Alejo Verdel in the head. Words were exchanged, but club staff intervened and separated them.

Torres was escorted out of the club by staff, the affidavit said, but he returned a short time later and attempted to coax Alejo Verdel and his friend outside.

After an altercation, both parties were instructed to leave the club by staff, the affidavit said.

The surveillance video allegedly showed Torres knocking Alejo Verdel's friend to the ground and punching him several times.

Torres then turned his attention to Alejo Verdel, punching him several times in the head and face, the affidavit said. Alejo Verdel attempted to defend himself, but was hit with a blow that appeared to incapacitate him, it added.

He was seen on the footage falling to the ground and was motionless as, according to deputies, Torres continued to punch him repeatedly in the head and face.

Club employees broke up the fight and called 911, while Torres fled the scene, the court document added.

The preliminary results of an autopsy indicated that Alejo Verdel's death was the result of blunt force trauma and his death was ruled as a homicide, the sheriff's office said.

Detectives managed to identify Torres through one of his associates, who was also seen with him on the video surveillance footage. A warrant for Torres' arrest for second-degree murder was issued on Sunday.

The sheriff's office said efforts to locate Torres had been ongoing, until he was arrested in Flagler County, with the assistance of deputies from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, without incident.

He was transported to the Flagler County jail. Online records show Torres was booked into custody shortly before 7 p.m. on Wednesday and remains held without bond.

This article has been updated with additional information from the charging affidavit.