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Mark Roher (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office).
A Florida attorney was recently arrested after an altercation at a buffet line turned physical, Sunshine State law enforcement say.
Mark Roher, 52, stands accused of one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to Palm Beach County Jail records.
What began verbally ended with violence and an arrest, authorities say.
The incident occurred on Jan. 18, during a wedding at the Boca Lago Country Club in Boca Raton, according to a police report obtained by the Miami New Times and local news website BocaNewsNow.com.
During the reception, the defendant was allegedly in line at the prime rib carving station when two young girls cut in front of him, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office alleges. Roher got angry about being cut in front of at the buffet and confronted the father of one of the girls, according to the police report.
“The slimmer man ignored the man yelling at him and did not respond,” a deputy reportedly wrote. “Without provocation, the large, bald man struck the slimmer man on the head with a dinner plate. From thereon, a melee began between a large number of the wedding guests.”
The man attacked also relayed his version of events:
The victim then stated that a white male standing behind him became upset that he was being cut in line and the white male who was later identified as Mark Stuart Roher walked up to him and they began arguing. The victim then stated that he was attempting to remove himself from the situation and he turned around to avoid further contact. The victim then alleged that he was hit over the head with a plate and he was shoved and while off balance the victim was grabbed by the collar by Mark who was holding a plate over his head.
Another witness offered a similar version of events:
I then spoke to a worker at the event who said in a sworn statement that (they) saw the whole interaction from the start and corroborate the victim’s account about why Mark became upset at being cut in line. The witness then stated that the victim had turned away from Mark in an attempt to ignore him and this is when Mark walked up to him with a plate and hit the victim on the head with the plate. The witness confirmed that the plate had shattered and that Mark then pushed the victim and was holding him by the collar. The witness then stated that surrounding people separated the two individuals, but then Mark attempted to walk back over to the victim. The witness said that (they) heard multiple plates shatter but the only one she saw as the one that Mark used to hit the victim on the head.
When initially questioned, Roher invoked his Miranda rights, the deputy wrote. Later, during a custodial interview at the Palm Beach County Sheriff District 7 Substation, Roher allegedly agreed to speak.
“[The defendant] stated that he was upset that he was being cut in line and…did get into an argument with the victim,” the police report reads. “Mark also admitted to making first contact by pushing the victim.”
Roher, however, allegedly denied hitting the other man with a plate and told investigators the reception was a “dry party.”
The defendant made clear to investigators that he suffered during the contretemps as well, according to the police report.
“[Roher] also informed me that had several injuries of where he was grabbed and escorted away,” the deputy’s report continues. “He mentioned that he was hit in the face, underarm, and shin.”
The defendant was booked into jail earlier this week and released on $1,000 bond a few hours later, sheriff’s office records show.