Officers recognized the injured man from a landlord-tenant dispute they had handled before his reported assault, according to police records.
DAVIE, Fla. — A routine call to remove a man who had remained at a convenience store for an extended period became something more serious when Davie police recognized him: He was the tenant they had encountered during a dispute at a nearby residence before he was allegedly beaten.
Employees at the Wawa at 2500 Davie Road told authorities that the man appeared to have been severely injured. Officers who arrived recognized him from their earlier contact and learned that he was accusing his landlord, Lennie Joseph Dufrene Jr., of attacking him after he returned home from a medical facility, according to reports based on a probable cause affidavit. The discovery at the store led to a sworn statement, a hospital examination and ultimately a warrant accusing Dufrene of felony battery.
The tenant was taken to HCA Florida University Hospital after speaking with officers. Medical staff diagnosed a fracture to the floor of his left eye socket and multiple fractures to his nose, police said. Those injuries gave investigators physical evidence that the man had suffered significant trauma, although the criminal case must still determine who caused the injuries and under what circumstances. The tenant told police that Dufrene was responsible and described an attack that caused him to lose consciousness twice.
According to his statement, the confrontation happened after he returned to the residence and discovered that the code used to unlock the property had been changed. The tenant said Dufrene came outside and punched him repeatedly in the face until he lost consciousness. When he awoke, he told investigators, he was lying face down with Dufrene on top of him and continuing to strike the back of his head. The tenant alleged that Dufrene then choked him, causing another loss of consciousness.
Police said the tenant eventually left the property and moved through the area because he was unable to get back inside. He later told investigators that he believed Dufrene was trying to kill him. The available reports do not say how long he wandered, where he went before arriving at the convenience store or exactly how much time passed before employees contacted authorities. They do establish that police encountered him at the Wawa the next day and connected him to the earlier landlord-tenant call.
That earlier encounter supplied context that would become central to the investigation. Dufrene, 58, had called Davie police and reported that his tenant was damaging the property. Officers responded and spoke with both men. The public accounts do not say whether police verified the damage allegation or whether it resulted in a criminal charge. Instead, officers had the tenant transported to a medical facility for an involuntary examination under Florida’s Baker Act.
Florida’s Baker Act allows an involuntary mental health examination when statutory requirements are met. Among other conditions, the law addresses situations in which there is reason to believe a person has a mental illness and, because of it, may be unable to determine the need for examination or may face a serious risk of harm or neglect. The reports concerning this case do not disclose enough detail to explain precisely which criteria officers believed were present. A Baker Act examination is not the same as a criminal arrest or conviction.
Before the tenant returned, police say Dufrene made statements that later took on greater importance. According to the warrant account reported by Local 10, he told officers that he would kill the tenant when the man was released from the hospital. Officers warned him that he would go to prison if he did so. Investigators said Dufrene then stated that he would beat the tenant instead. Police responded with another warning that attacking the man would lead to jail.
The tenant was released from the facility at about 2:30 p.m., according to Local 10. When he arrived back at the residence, police said, he found that the lock code had been changed. The criminal reports do not resolve the parties’ underlying housing disagreement. They do not establish whether Dufrene had begun eviction proceedings, whether the tenant had challenged access to the property in civil court or whether a lease provision was in dispute. The warrant focuses on the violence that the tenant says followed.
After the Wawa encounter, investigators had several elements to consider together: the officers’ own earlier contact with Dufrene and the tenant, the alleged threat made in front of police, the tenant’s sworn description of the attack and the medical findings documenting facial fractures. Detectives concluded that those facts established probable cause for a felony battery arrest, according to the published warrant accounts.
Florida law defines felony battery under Section 784.041 as intentionally touching or striking another person against that person’s will and causing great bodily harm, permanent disability or permanent disfigurement. It is classified as a third-degree felony. A probable cause determination does not require the same level of proof needed to convict someone at trial. Prosecutors ultimately carry the burden of proving the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt if a case goes to trial.
Dufrene was arrested at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport by Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies after the warrant was issued, Local 10 reported. A Broward judge found probable cause and set bond at $15,000. Dufrene later no longer appeared in the county jail records checked by the station. His release from jail did not end the criminal case and does not indicate whether he will ultimately be convicted or acquitted.
The tenant’s allegation that Dufrene choked him is included in the probable cause narrative, but the charge identified in the reporting reviewed for this story is one count of felony battery. Florida law has other battery provisions, including a statute addressing domestic battery by strangulation under specified relationship conditions. No additional strangulation charge appears in the sources reviewed here, so the alleged choking is reported as part of the tenant’s account rather than as a separate offense.
Weeks after the arrest, the case took a turn involving the prosecutors assigned to it. An Aug. 21 executive order signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis says Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor voluntarily disqualified himself because the alleged victim is related to a former employee of his office. The order says Pryor sought the assignment of another state attorney to avoid a conflict of interest or the appearance of impropriety.
DeSantis assigned Alexcia Cox, state attorney for Florida’s 15th Judicial Circuit, to perform Pryor’s duties in the investigation and prosecution of Dufrene and related matters in the 17th Judicial Circuit. Cox may designate assistant state attorneys and investigators to work on the matter. The executive assignment continues through Aug. 21, 2027, unless the case ends sooner or the assignment is otherwise changed.
The executive order adds context to the prosecution but does not change the evidentiary burden in the criminal case. It does not make a finding that the assault occurred as alleged, and it does not accuse Pryor’s office of misconduct. Rather, it states that Pryor stepped aside because of the relationship involving a former employee and sought an outside prosecutor to prevent a conflict or the appearance of one.
Published coverage leaves uncertainty about the exact date on which the confrontation occurred. Local 10 reported on July 29 that Davie police said the attack happened the previous Wednesday. Law&Crime’s later account placed the initial police response on June 22. Because the two descriptions conflict, and because the complete underlying affidavit was not independently available here to resolve the discrepancy, the specific date is not stated as settled fact.
What can be traced consistently is the chain of events that led officers back to the tenant at the Wawa. Police first encountered him during Dufrene’s property complaint. He was taken for mental health examination. Dufrene allegedly warned officers that he would harm the tenant upon his return. The tenant later came back to a changed lock code and said he was attacked. By the time officers saw him again at the convenience store, his injuries were visible enough to prompt medical treatment and a criminal investigation.
As of Sept. 8, the reviewed public record does not establish a plea, trial verdict or other final disposition in Dufrene’s felony battery case. The latest verified development is the executive reassignment of prosecutors. The tenant’s account and the evidence cited in the probable cause affidavit remain allegations that will have to be evaluated through the judicial process.
Author note: Last updated September 8, 2026.