GAINESVILLE, FL - May 18, 2020 - According to an online news report on WCJB.com, a lawyer who once represented Roy Moore, former Alabama Senate candidate, and Chief Justice, was arrested in Gainesville, Florida. According to Alachua County Sheriff's Office, deputies arrested the 40-year-old attorney after Sheriff's deputies responded to a call from the Hotel Indigo in Celebration Pointe. The caller notified law enforcement that a man was causing a disturbance on the property.
Alachua County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the Hotel Indigo in Celebration Pointe, Florida, and staff from the hotel stated that the disturbance was occurring on the 4th floor. According to the Alachua County Sheriff's arrest report, hotel staff members stated a middle-aged man was allegedly shouting racist profanities at many of the hotel's guests.
According to the news report, as Alachua County Sheriff's deputies entered an elevator, the deputies could overhear a man yelling from the 4th floor. Before Sheriff's deputies arrived at the source of the yelling, Sheriff's deputies heard the suspect in another elevator, which opened in the lobby.
Alachua County Sheriff's deputies who were in the hotel's lobby observed the suspect verbally reprimanding two hotel guests and using racial slurs and obscene language. The Sheriff's deputies approached the man as he started backing the two hotel guests into one of the elevator's corners.
An Alachua County Sheriff's deputy seized the suspect's arm to pull the suspect away from the hotel guests; however, the suspect returned to the two hotel guests. The Alachua County Sheriff's deputies initiated an arrest on the suspect.
An Alachua County Sheriff's deputy was successful in placing the first handcuff on the suspect's wrist, and the suspect was issued several verbal orders by the deputies to comply. However, the suspect pulled his arm away from the deputy, and the suspect spun around with his other arm toward the Sheriff's deputy. Sheriff's deputies ended up throwing the suspect to the ground in order to place the suspect under arrest. The suspect stated later that he was drinking wine and that he realized that he was "heavily intoxicated."
The news report suggests that the suspect has had other legal issues involving run-ins with law enforcement. The Huntsville, Alabama, news website Alabama.com, stated that the suspect was arrested in 2019 on drug possession and DUI charges.
The suspect once provided legal representation to Roy Moore, a former Senate candidate in Alabama, during the famous 2017 special election.
The suspect was charged with resisting arrest without violence and public intoxication. The suspect was held at the Alachua County jail until he was able to be released. No bail amount was reported.
Resisting an Officer Without Violence Charges in Florida
In the State of Florida, Resisting an Officer Without Violence occurs when an individual, without the use of violence, obstructs a law enforcement officer when the officer is executing his or her legal duty, including arrest. Resisting an Officer Without Violence is a misdemeanor in the first-degree, and if the defendant is convicted the crime, he or she faces serious penalties such as up to 1 year in jail or 12-months on probation, plus a $1,000 fine.