MUG SHOT Florida man beaten by bar patrons after abandoning his children to drink beer

Florida police have arrested a man for child neglect after he left his children in his car for four hours while he went to drink beer.

Joshua Delong, 28, of Ocala FL, was beaten bloody by his fellow patrons once they discovered he had kept his children in the car the entire time he had been in the bar.

Bar security guard Christopher Chung said the whole sordid affair began when he tried to talk Delong out of driving drunk.

At this point, Delong was actually behind the wheel of his car, and attempting to drive away. While he argued with Chung, another customer–presumably, one who did not have three children, aged 5, 7, and 8, waiting on him–approached Delong’s gold Cadillac, and struck him.

And, from there, the melee was on. A group of patrons dragged Delong from his car and gave him a Florida-style parking lot beating.

It turned out that shortly before all this unfolded, some sensible person had called the police to let them know that there were three children sitting inside a car in the bar parking lot, honking the horn and shouting “Daddy” so they could be heard through the rolled-up windows.

Delong claimed that he had left the children with his mother, and that his wife had dropped them off, in his car, without his knowledge.

Both Delong’s mother and wife denied this.

After being treated for his parking lot injuries at a nearby hospital, Delong was booked into the Marion County Jail on three counts of child neglect.