Prosecutors say Linehan immediately attacked the boy, choking him to unconsciousness before putting him down on the street and punching and kicking him. A friend of the teen had been driving behind the two in his car and recorded the incident on his cellphone. The teenager came to and got up on his hands and knees in the street. Officials say Linehan kicked him again, this time in the head. The kick was so forceful, they said, that it caused the teen to fall over backwards and lose consciousness again.

Linehan took off, but Bluffs police later got a tip that he was involved, and they traced the Jeep to his girlfriend. During an interview, an officer noticed that Linehan’s knuckles were swollen and taped together. Linehan is charged with willful injury, a felony punishable by 10 years in prison if he’s convicted.

On Friday, he posted 10 percent of a $30,000 bail — $3,000 — and was released from the Pottawattamie County Jail. A trial date was pending. The teenager was hospitalized for treatment of his injuries. He suffered a concussion and significant damage to his cheeks, gums and teeth. Prosecutors said he still has no memory of what happened — or of the previous eight hours before the run-in with Linehan.