ECSO: Molino man 'savagely' beat and body slammed two teens; one teen hospitalized

A Molino man was arrested this weekend for allegedly body slamming two teenagers, leading one of them to be hospitalized.

Eric Benson, 38, was arrested Sunday by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and charged with battery and child abuse. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond and remained in custody Monday.  

On Sunday, an ECSO deputy was dispatched to a fight at a home where he found a male and female teenager who both had injuries, according to Benson's arrest report.

A witness told the deputy Benson had injured the teens. The teenagers had originally been fighting each other, and their fighting "infuriated" Benson, the report stated.

The witness said that suddenly and without warning, Benson — who is described as 6 feet, 4 inches tall and about 300 pounds — started to "brutally beat" the female teenager before picking her up and slamming her on the floor.

The male teen tried to intervene to help, and Benson then turned his attention to that teenager, who the deputy described in his report as "frail and approximately 110 pounds."

Benson "savagely" beat the teen before picking him up and slamming him on the floor — like he had done to the female teen — the report stated.

Deputies observed the male teenager had cuts on multiple parts of his body and speculated he had broken bones. He was transported to Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital.

The female teenager was bleeding from her mouth, but the report made no mention of her being taken to a hospital.

A warrant was written for Benson’s arrest, and ECSO deputies located him later Sunday.

Colin Warren-Hicks can be reached at colinwarrenhicks@pnj.com or 850-435-8680.