Man arrested after slap that put another man in coma

Police have arrested a suspect in a violent altercation in a North Beach market.

Roger Todd Perry, 53, was found in Palm Beach County on Thursday and brought back to Miami Beach, where witnesses picked him out of a lineup.

Video taken of a checkout line at the M&L Food Market on Dec. 1 clearly shows one man backhanding another and the victim, Mohammed A. Hussain, falling to the floor unconscious.

Perry was arrested and charged with battery, which could be upgraded if Hussain, a father of two, dies.

Hussain, who was rushed to the trauma center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, remains in a coma with severe brain bleeding.

The incident at the store, 7446 Collins Ave., happened as the two men stood in line waiting to buy groceries. The first few seconds of the video show the men standing beside each other simply exchanging words.

Then the discussion escalates, with Perry making a sharp pivot and backhanding Hussain across the face. Hussain collapses.

Miami Beach police said Perry waived his rights to an attorney and “admitted his involvement.” He was taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correction facility.

This story was originally published December 12, 2014 at 10:34 AM with the headline "Man arrested after slap that put another man in coma."