Father and son are accused of beating a man over Pokémon Go, Missouri cops say

A father and his adult son are accused of beating a man and pushing him into a lake at a St. Louis-area park because of a dispute over Pokémon Go.

Robert Matteuzzi, 71, and Angelo Matteuzzi, 30, were each charged with third-degree assault Tuesday, according to online court records.

The fight happened around 7 p.m. Monday at a Kirkwood, Missouri, park, police said.

According to KSDK, it started after a man suspected two players of stealing a virtual "gym" he was looking to claim in Pokémon Go, a popular mobile game in which people capture and battle pocket monsters.

Police said the man threw a Gatorade bottle in their vehicle, but he later denied this in interviews with St. Louis television stations.

Later, the father and son caught up with the man in a different area, and according to KTVI, they threw the bottle back, which hit the man's face. That's when a fight broke out between the three.

A witness captured video of the fight and turned it over to police, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. That video has not been made public, but it allegedly shows Robert Matteuzzi holding the man down while Angelo Matteuzzi hits him repeatedly in the face and head.

The man told media outlets the father and son then pushed him in a lake. He believes they tried to drown him.

Photos provided to KSDK showed the man with an eye swollen shut, a broken finger tip, cuts and bruises.

The Matteuzzis were arrested and booked into the St. Louis County Justice Center. Bail was set at $15,000 each.

A court date has not yet been scheduled.

The man told KMOV and KSDK he had gotten into a dispute with members of the family last year over the same game.

This story was originally published June 20, 2018 at 9:31 AM with the headline "Father and son are accused of beating a man over Pokémon Go, Missouri cops say."