Left: Eddie Orobitg (via Lake County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office. Right: Joseph Sivak (screengrab via WOFL/Fox 35).
A dentist is facing felony charges for allegedly attacking a doctor with a golf club, leaving the doctor with a bloodied face and a torn earlobe.
Eddie Orobitg, 52, was arrested on Sunday after an altercation with Joseph Sivak on the golf course at Harbor Hills Country Club in Lady Lake, Florida. According to court documents, law enforcement was called to the scene of a "battery in progress that involved golf clubs being used as weapons" at around 1:20 on Sunday afternoon.
Sivak "stated that he was walking with his wife on the golf course path of their community when [Orobitg] advised him that he is not supposed to be walking on the golf course path as it is intended for golf carts and it is a rule of the golf course," a probable cause affidavit for Orobitg's arrest said.
According to Sivak, a verbal altercation escalated to a physical altercation when Orobitg hit Sivak in the leg with a golf club.
"At some point [Orobitg] struck him with a golf club on the side of his head from behind and that during the altercation he defended himself by striking [Orobitg] with his water bottle," the affidavit said. "He stated that [Orobitg] continued to strike him several times and that he believes his ribs were broken."
The affidavit says that Sivak's clothes were "covered in what appeared to be blood" and that he had "several cuts on his body and it appeared as though his ear lobe was ripped." Sivak was taken to the hospital for treatment and evaluation "due to potentially having broken ribs, potentially having a traumatic brain injury (TBI), as well as potentially having a broken jaw."
Orobitg's version of events differed from Sivak's. According to the affidavit, Orobitg was golfing with his minor son when Sivak and his wife "walked on the golf course, and he asked them to get out of the way."
"He stated that [Sivak] then got into his face and shoved him," the affidavit continues. "He stated that the Victim then spat in his face, at which time a physical altercation began between them, and the Victim struck him with a water bottle in the face and attempt to take his [golf] clubs."
Orobitg said that he believed Sivak "was attempting to grab the golf club to strike him and his son, therefore, he continued to strike the Victim in order to prevent him from taking the golf clubs."
Orobitg's son reportedly told officials that his father spat in Sivak's face, and Sivak responded by spitting in Orobitg's face.
"He then stated that [Sivak] pushed his father, and in the process of getting pushed, his father accidentally struck [Sivak] with his golf club while he was falling, however, he dropped the club when he got up," the affidavit says. Orobitg's son then said that Orobitg and Sivak "began physically fighting and his father began to strike the Victim several times, even when the Victim was on the ground."
The affidavit noted that Orobitg didn't appear to show any signs of having been attacked.
"While on scene, I did not observe the Defendant to have any marks on him that are consistent with being struck," the affidavit says, although Orobitg did apparently have a cut on his hand and what appeared to be blood on his clothes.
"I further observed his golf clubs to have what appeared to be blood on them," the affidavit said.
Local Fox affiliate WOFL reported that Sivak's wife called 911.
"They just won't stop!" she allegedly told the dispatcher. "They're fighting with golf clubs, kicking the s— out of each other!"
The station, which obtained body camera footage of the arrest, reported that Orobitg appeared surprised when he was arrested.
Lake County Sheriff's Office records show that Orobitg has been charged with aggravated battery, a second-degree felony, and was released from jail on $5,000 bond. His next appearance is scheduled for May 30.
Lady Lake is located in central Florida, around 50 miles northwest of Orlando and close to The Villages, a retirement community.
Florida records show that Sivak is a medical doctor and Orobitg is a dentist. Neither has a history of disciplinary actions.
Read a copy of the probable cause affidavit for Orobitg's arrest here.
