The attorney for the man attacked in the Peace River by a charter boat captain is speaking exclusively to Gulf Coast News.
Punta Gorda attorney Steven Leskovich is representing Gage Towles.
"Gage is doing as well as can be expected right now," Leskovich said. "He's still traumatized, and it's going to be quite some time. He's going to have to go through treatment himself."
The attorney, who is also running for Florida attorney general, said Towles will not let what happened to him stop him from fishing.
You have probably seen this viral video Towles recorded last week, shocking men throughout Florida and beyond.
"I was disturbed," Leskovich said. "Literally disturbed at what I saw."
It shows Capt. Brock Horner of Tarpon Coast Fishing threatened Towles, jumping on his boat and, police say, even pulling him by his shirt.
The fight comes after Towles said Horner sped past him in the dark without his lights on just a few days before.
"I can imagine his business is going to suffer, and rightfully so," he said. "I wouldn't want to go on his boat. I wouldn't want him to be my charter captain."
Punta Gorda police arrested Horner for burglary with assault Friday, a few days after the fight.
Gulf Coast News asked Leskovich if he believed Horner would have been arrested if it had not been for Gage's GoPro filming it.
"Law enforcement might have said this is a 'he said, he said' kind of incident," he said. "We don't have enough to go by that."
While Leskovich doesn’t believe what Horner did was right, he said the threats toward him and his family have got to stop.
"It's very sad," Leskovich said. "No person should have to endure threats that are being made. Whether it's Mr. Horner's family members, his associates, his comrades, his attorney."
Horner bonded out of jail Saturday.
Leskovich said he is just happy the situation did not escalate further. As for the other three men on the boat, Leskovich said he does not think they are out of the clear, but only time will tell.
DOWNLOAD
the free
Gulf Coast News app
for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more.