Three charged with beating man on offshore island

Three men have been arrested for beating a man who was later treated for head trauma at a Miami hospital.

The attack took place on June 19th on Christmas Tree Island, offshore of Key West. The 26 year old victim, a Key West resident, told Detective Spencer Curry he was on the island the night before for a party. He said he fell asleep at a campsite on the island and woke up the next morning to find four friends of his also there. He said they were drinking alcohol.

One of the men, 25 year old Daniel Woerner, reportedly began throwing punches at the victim. The victim said the other three were instigating the fight verbally. He said he didn’t want to fight with Woerner, but Woerner kept punching him so he finally hit him back, knocking him out. At that point, two of the other men, 28 year old Michael Podniestrzanski and 22 year old Kyle Dean began to attack him, hitting, kicking and stomping on his head. The fourth man reportedly did not attack the victim, instead trying to stop the attack from taking place.

The victim eventually got away and found another friend on the island who took him to shore. The victim said he went to his mother’s house where he passed out on the porch. When his mother and stepfather found him there, they took him to the hospital. He was later transported to Kendall Regional Medical Center where he was treated for head injuries.

Detective Curry was able to work with the victim to identify his attackers. Warrants were issued for Podniestrzanski, Dean and Woerner for aggravated battery. They have all been arrested on the warrants within the past week and were all booked into jail.