A Peachtree City man is recovering from a beating he received after confronting two men in a late-night altercation at the Starbucks in The Avenue shopping center three weeks ago.

Thanks to information from witnesses, police were able to apprehend the two suspects minutes after they left the scene. Daniel Lynn Taylor, 20 and Ryan Neal Harvey, 19, both of Acworth, were charged with battery and underage possession of alcohol; Harvey was also charged with obstruction of a police officer.

The victim, Brian Dumont, suffered an eye injury, several bumps on his head and a cut on his left ear, police said. Dumont was first attacked by Taylor and then Harvey jumped into the fray, also attacking Dumont, according to a police incident report.

During the attack, Dumont was knocked to the ground, and when he got up, he was shoved into a light pole, causing a head injury. He was also struck twice in the back of the head before Taylor and Harvey left the scene, police said.

Witnesses told police the altercation began after Harvey yelled the word “dykes” directed at several women Dumont was with; they were leaving Starbucks at the time of the incident, which was reported at 11:15 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28. Dumont then confronted Taylor and the fight broke out, police were told.

Dumont was diagnosed with burst blood vessels in his injured eye, which made it difficult to lay down without getting a severe headache, he told police the next day.

Police also found a small amount of a substance that appeared to be marijuana in the car. When Harvey and Taylor were in the back of a patrol car, Harvey was recorded saying “You ate that weed, right?” and “I should have knocked him out so he couldn’t tell anybody.”

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