Beating suspects posted video on You Tube

LUTZ -  

The brutal beating wasn't just caught on tape, but edited and posted on YouTube for all to see.

Police say they know one man involved, the man behind the camera. They've since arrested him, but they're now looking for others.

The video is produced like part of a reality show. There's narration, and sections of it are even set to music. But it's not a music video -- police say it's footage of a real life brutal beating that left Alex Fernandez bloody and battered.

And, they say, it was posted for all the world to see on YouTube.

"The defendant was basically instigating all of this and telling the onlookers what to do," explains Sgt. Joel Masci with The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Police say Fernandez was at the L.A. Hangout bar late one night in March. They say he was punched inside the bar. According to investigators, he then pulled a bat out of his car and went looking for who the person who hit him. That's when police say William Bogan started rolling, even directing others, telling them what to do.

Media expert Eric Polins with HCP & Associates says the line between what's real and what's entertainment these days is blurry.

"The problem is that the platform is there for anyone to utilize. It's self promotion that's unguarded and there's no watch dog on the web," added Polins.

Police say that's just what Bogun was going for. They say he even returned to the scene of the crime to pass out edited DVDs of the beating, using one man's misfortune as a way to help launch his production company.

"You can actually hear the thump of the bat hitting the back of his head and you can see the result when the victim tries to stand up," adds Masci.

The video has since been removed from YouTube and police are looking for others who were involved. Polins worries in this day and age, it's only a matter of time before someone tries something like this again.

"When you have the reality shows pushing it to the max, you have the technology available to do it and you have a creative mind, there's no one stopping them," Pollins said.