Whole or almond milk? Fight over which is better lands Florida man in jail

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — A debate over milk on Sunday landed a Florida man behind bars.

Justin Anthony Garcia, 30, is charged with aggravated battery, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

In a Facebook post, authorities wrote that Garcia “'cried over spilled milk' because the victim wouldn’t agree that his choice of milk was obviously superior.”

A criminal complaint states that a deputy responded shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday to a home in Lehigh Acres, where Garcia and his cousin were arguing over which is better: whole milk or almond milk.

“Their verbal argument became physical when Garcia became enraged at the victim for disagreeing with him,” the complaint states. “Garcia proceeded to punch the victim with a closed fist to the victim’s left side of his forehead.”

Garcia’s cousin tried to punch back but missed his face, his blow landing instead on Garcia’s shoulder.

That’s when Garcia pulled out a pocket knife, deputies said.

“The victim became scared of what Garcia might do with the knife and proceeded to run away from Garcia as he chased the victim through the front yard,” the court document states.

Garcia caught up with the victim and struck him with the knife, causing a small cut to the man’s torso. An uncle intervened at that point, grabbing Garcia and separating the men until deputies arrived.

“The witness was working on the victim’s vehicle in the driveway when he heard Garcia and the victim argue over almond milk,” the complaint states.

It was not clear from the records which side of the issue Garcia was arguing in favor of.

Read the entire criminal complaint below.

When a deputy spoke to Garcia, he said “his cousin, who is the victim, thinks he is better than the whole family.” Garcia claimed that the argument was about the pair’s prior issues and that his cousin came after him with a stick.

He said he was defending himself when he punched his cousin, and he denied using his knife during the fight, the document says.

The deputy found the pocket knife in Garcia’s pants pocket during a search. He was arrested on the battery charge and booked into the Lee County Jail.

Garcia was released Tuesday on a $25,000 bond, jail records show.

Records show that Sunday’s arrest was the 10th for Garcia in Lee County. His arrests date back to 2004, when he was 14 and accused of battery on an elected official or education worker.

Details of that arrest were not available in online records, likely due to Garcia’s age at the time.

His most recent arrest prior to Sunday was in February, when he was charged with a probation violation.

Cox Media Group