Dunnellon, FL father and son found guilty of battery and witness tampering

State Attorney's Office (SAO), Fifth Judicial Circuit of Florida
Marion, Lake, Citrus, Sumter and Hernando counties
September 3, 2024

Marion County, Florida - As the result of their trial last week, 50 year-old Vincent Paul Gaudio and his son, 18 year-old William Trent Gaudio, both of Dunnellon, Florida, were found guilty of all charges related to their arrests in regard to an incident that occurred on September 4, 2023. Each was charged with aggravated battery with great bodily harm, and tampering with a witness. Their sentencing court date is scheduled for October 29, 2024, 8:30 am.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Tucker O'Neill.

"The verdict in this case echoes our commitment to seeking justice for victims," said State Attorney Bill Gladson of Florida's Fifth Judicial Circuit Court. "The victim in this case was brutally attacked by both defendants, and that's clearly what the evidence supported and what the jury found to be true, beyond a reasonable doubt."

On September 4, 2023, the defendants attacked a man at the Circle K store and gas station, located at 11946 North Williams Street in Dunnellon, Florida. The victim reported to officials, that while riding a bike as he was leaving the store, Vincent and William Gaudio exited a trail from a wooded area. William Gaudio, the son, grabbed the bicycle, which caused the victim to fall to the ground. While the victim was on the ground, both men punched and kicked the victim in the head and the chest areas. While being battered, the victim attempted to call 9-1-1, but the Gaudio men grabbed the phone and smashed it, preventing the victim's call for help.

Deputies who arrived on the scene noted that the victim's face was swollen, with hemorrhaging to the eye and a hematoma to the lip. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital, diagnosed with a fractured orbital bone.