Man charged with assualting Pokemon Go gamer in Long Beach

Authorities filed charges against a 57-year-old man accused of striking a teen over the head with a metal pole while he was playing Pokemon Go in Long Beach, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.

Jayson Louis Lingen has been charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon. He is scheduled to be arraigned at the George Deukmejian Courthouse in Long Beach today, a district attorney press release said.

According to prosecutors, the 17-year-old was playing the augmented reality game Wednesday night, near the Aquarium of the Pacific, when Lingen began yelling at the boy before attacking him with a metal pole.

Authorities were contacted and police took the suspect into custody, prosecutors said, adding that the defendant was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in 2013, the release said.

The DA will ask bail to be set at $100,000.

If convicted, Lingen faces a maximum possible sentence of 13 years in state prison.

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