[Brometheus]

Massive outrage across Miami followed the news of Rene Betancourt Jr.'s brutal beating at the hands of 'three to five black men.'

The 22-year-old college student suffered a fractured skull, a broken nose and underwent two brain surgeries as police searched for his assailants, with people donating hundreds of dollars to his recovery.

But surveillance video from the scene of the incident showed that Mr Betancourt wasn't attacked - he smacked into a wall while skating in a parking garage - and he may face charges for fibbing.


Mr Betancourt initially told police that he went to downtown Miami at 1 a.m. on July 7 to meet up with a group of skaters he heard about online, according to Local10.

Skateboarders will often ride in the middle of the night because there is less traffic and therefore, less chance of accidents or injury.

He told officers that several black men jumped him, stealing his wallet, and he woke up alone on the floor.

He managed to drive himself to Jackson Memorial Hospital, but was too woozy to get out a car.

'He received several blows on the head from what we believe was a very strong, heavy object. He had so many cracks in his skull that the surgeon didn't even count,' said Daniela Herdocia, Betancourt's sister, at the time to Local10.



The hospital set up a fund to help the Betancourts pay for his extensive surgeries and rehabilitation. He was released last week, 10 days after the incident.

'I'm a lucky guy,' he told reporters outside the hospital, when he got up out of his wheelchair and walked to his father's car on his own.

'I'm in pain. I just want to go home,' he said. Although police had no leads on his attackers at the time, he wasn't concerned with catching the culprits. 'Not much anger. I mean, things happen every day.'

But police uncovered a surveillance video that changes the investigation entirely.

In the footage, Mr Betancourt can be seen skateboarding through a parking garage before slamming head-first into a wall. He then falls hard onto the ground and lies there for several minutes.

Hours later, at around 11:30 a.m., he can be seen entering an elevator with his skateboard.

Investigators said that the injuries he sustained were consistent with a face-plant and they now believe there were no assailants.

'All we had from the beginning was three to four black males,' said Napier Velazquez of the Miami Police Department to Local10.

'As the police department, we gather info on the scene, so we assume that all the information is valuable. We don't question where they [the victims] get their information from.'

The officer told the news station that they are still mulling over whether or not they will press charges against Mr Betancourt for filing a false report.

The family, however, has said they will return all the donations from well-wishers that they received from the hospital.

'We're just relieved that nobody was trying to hurt him or worse, kill him,' his sister Andrea Betancourt said.

She claims that her brother doesn't remember anything and just followed the prompts of doctors and police, who insisted the injuries were the result of an assault.




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[Robert440]

I will not say "First!" But i will say wow!!!

[Brometheus]

Originally Posted by Robert440 ↗

I will not say "First!" But i will say wow!!!

your username has my favorite lucky number.. 440

[r0tten]

He hit a wall and caused that much damage? Goddamn!! If I did something that fucking stupid I'd lie too. Fucking dipshit.

[kellyhound]

If he wasn't already that badly damaged i would say, throw that lying dumbass in jail.

[icheerthebull]

My first reaction was 'what a cunt' however with such injurys I do believe his version that he couldn't remember. I'm sure leading him to claim 'he was jumped by black guys' isn't above the police.