Florida groom spends wedding night in jail after punching beach-goer in ceremony's way
A Florida man spent what was supposed to be his wedding night in jail after he got into a fight with a bystander who refused to leave his beach chair, according to police.
Boynton Beach resident Jeffrey Alvord, 27, was arrested Sunday around 5 p.m., just before his wedding ceremony was set to begin, Ocean Ridge Police Chief Hal Hutchins told ABC News.
When police arrived to Oceanfront Park, they saw a large crowd from the wedding party standing around, Hutchins said.
The altercation allegedly began after Alvord approached a 24-year-old man, telling him his beachfront wedding was supposed to start in 15 minutes, Hutchins said.
Alvord apparently asked the man to move from his spot, which was in front of where the wedding party was supposed to stand, so that he wouldn't appear in the wedding pictures, according to the police chief. Alvord then offered him $20 to relocate, but the man demanded $50, Hutchins said.
Two groomsmen then approached the pair in an effort to mitigate the altercation, according to Hutchins.
Alvord told police the victim became "belligerent," so he then punched him the face, breaking his nose, Hutchins said.
Oceanfront Park is a public beach owned by the City of Boynton Beach, Hutchins said.
Alvord was charged with aggravated battery causing harm or disability and criminal mischief between $200 and $1,000 and taken to the Palm Beach County jail, where he spent the night, online jail records show. He was released on Monday on $3,000 bond.
The wedding finally took place on Monday after Alvord was released, and the newlyweds departed for their honeymoon on Tuesday, The Palm Beach Post reported.
Alvord's criminal attorney, Steven Cohen, did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. Cohen told The Palm Beach Post that the situation "did not play out" as the victim described.
