Collier man accused of nearly beating friend to death

NAPLES, Fla. A 36-year-old man is accused of nearly beating his long-time friend to death during a birthday celebration at 3190 Karen Drive, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office said.

David Badger, of 2001 Airport Rd. South, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly attacking Travis Peak with a stick, causing Peak to suffer a serious head injury, deputies said.

Badger and Peak engaged in a verbal dispute in the front yard that quickly turned physical, according to witness William Demilio, who was inside the house during the fight.

“We’re hanging out playing music, then Travis came home,” he said.  “They started arguing, as usual, because they were always bickering.”

When Demilio eventually went outside, he found Peak laying on the ground with an obvious head injury.

He told Demilio that Badger had struck him in the head. Badger, who was about to leave in his red Ford Ranger, stopped and stepped out of the vehicle, according to deputies. He went inside the home, grabbed a stick, then hit Peak over the head while he was laying on the ground and fled.

When deputies arrived, Peak was unconscious and bleeding profusely. Deputies also found what appeared to be fragments of his skull nearby, the sheriff’s office said.

Peak was transported NCH with an open skull fracture, then to Shands Hospital in Gainesville, where he remains in critical condition.

“He’s essentially a vegetable,” said Jonas Williams, Peak’s brother-in-law. “He’s not gonna be a viable productive member of society anymore.”

Badger is in custody facing a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He is being held on a $200,000 bond.