Palm Coast Man, 19, Accused of Beating Teen and Smashing Car’s Windshield

Christian Anthony Betancourt, a 19-year-old resident of Farmbrook Lane in Palm Coast, faces a felony count of throwing deadly missiles at an occupied vehicle following a Nov. 21 confrontation at the Fairfield Inn hotel on Old Kings Road in Palm Coast. (A child abuse charge was subsequently dropped.)

The alleged victim in the child abuse count is a 17-year-old boy Betancourt accused of being a “snitch” after Betancourt’s girlfriend learned that Betancourt had cheated on her at the hotel room. But according to the teen’s father, the 17-year-old had merely given the girlfriend a ride in exchange for $30 and had no idea what was taking place at the hotel. Numerous people contacted law enforcement at the time of the disturbance just before midnight on the 21st.




Betancourt and his girlfriend had lived together at his mother’s house for two years. He told Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies that he’d been at Room 212  at the Fairfield Inn with friends, and had sex with someone there, but couldn’t remember her name. His girlfriend rode over to the hotel with her friend, the 17 year old, banged on the door of the room, and confronted Betancourt, pushing and hitting him. She told deputies he never hit her.

Witnesses told deputies Betancourt got angry with the juvenile for bringing his girlfriend to the hotel and attacked him, punching him in the back of the head. The 17 year old to dropped to the ground. Betancourt continued to punch him in the face, busting up his nose and lip. Others pulled Betancourt off of the juvenile. Betancourt told a deputy as he sat in the back of a patrol vehicle, on his way to the Flagler County jail, that the juvenile got “what was coming to him.”

Betancourt then allegedly picked up rocks or chunks of concrete debris, threw them at the 2003 Toyota Camry the 17 year old had driven over, and shattered the rear windshield. There were two occupants in the car at the time, both of whom were covered in debris from the windshield when they spoke to deputies. One of them was bruised on the shoulder. The occupants described the projectiles thrown at the car as being the size of softballs. The Toyota belongs to the juvenile’s father.




Betancourt initially denied that there’d been any violence, either between him and the juvenile or anything involving the car, and also denied knowing who the 17 year old was, only to then refer to him as his “boy” and as someone who betrayed him. As the deputy drove to the jail, Betancourt “made several admissions to having a physical altercation with” the younger man, according to his arrest report.

The firing of a deadly missile count is a second-degree felony. Betancourt is also charged with two misdemeanors for criminal mischief and battery. He posted bail on $8,000 bond and was released, with his arraignment set for Dec. 18.