HOUSTON — A Houston judge raised the bond Wednesday for a 19-year-old man arrested after he admitted that he's the guy seen in a video sucker punching people at a Houston-area park.
Alford Lasean Lewis is charged with assault with bodily injury and aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon stemming from two incidents on Oct. 26, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Lewis admitted what he was doing was dangerous and asked the judge to raise his initial $10,000 bond to $30,000. The judge agreed.
"We take these cases extremely seriously at the district attorney's office, and in this case the facts were particularly troubling, these boys were out at a park where people enjoy the outdoors and are exercising and shouldn't expect to run into any kind of trouble,” said Ashlea Sheridan, a prosecutor with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Lewis is accused of attacking two men in separate incidents at Wortham Park in northwest Harris County last Thursday, while prosecutors said another teen, 18-year-old Kingston Miker, filmed the attack on his phone.
In one of the attacks, Lewis tried to rob the man of his cellphone at gunpoint and threatened to shoot him in the foot, according to prosecutors. When the victim refused, they say Lewis then punched and choked him.
"This man was out there doing what any citizen in Harris County would do, when he was approached by these two males, and attempted to be robbed at gunpoint,” Sheridan said.
In the other attack, prosecutors said Lewis is seen on video sucker punching a man in the back of the head. They said Lewis and Kingston then laughed before running away.
"They did this for fun and posted it on social media which is simply unacceptable, and I felt, given the circumstances, that the bond needed to be raised,” said Sheridan.
If Lewis makes bond, he must wear a GPS ankle monitor and be placed under 24-hour house arrest.
Miker was also arrested on Wednesday and he faces the same charges as Lewis. Miker is expected back in court Friday morning.
'I just made a mistake'
On Friday, KHOU 11’s Jason Miles talked to Lewis, who admitted he was the guy in the video and that he regretted it.
"You know, I just made a mistake, and everybody makes mistakes,” Lewis said.
KHOU 11 News spoke with Lewis at his home, not far from the park. He admitted his parents were disappointed when they learned what happened.
"I really didn't expect for it to go so left, you know," Lewis told us.
He said he did it to get likes and views on YouTube and TikTok but said the harsh reaction to the video made him re-think his actions and he hopes others learn from his mistake.
"Before you go out and do anything you feel is bad, or that could look bad, make sure, like, people know – or just don't do it at all," Lewis advised.