PENSACOLA, FL - May 6, 2020 - According to an online news report published on PNJ.com, a Pensacola man allegedly broke into a woman’s home, injured a child, threatened to kill the child’s mother, and then picked up and threw an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy to the ground. The 39-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with burglary with assault and battery, criminal mischief, damage to property, drug possession, resisting arrest, battery on a law enforcement officer, child neglect, and cruelty toward a child. The suspect was booked at the Escambia County Jail, and his bail bond was set at $16,500.
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies answered a “burglary in progress” call on Friday evening. The deputies arrived at the scene of the call and found the suspect at the scene. The arrest report redacted the incident location.
According to eye witness testimony from several eyewitnesses to the crime told the investigators that the suspect initiated a fight with the deputies and the suspect struck one of the deputies in the deputy´s face. Another eyewitness reported to investigators that the suspect lifted one of the deputies, and then threw the deputy to the ground, and then hit the deputy in the face. The altercation with sheriff´s deputies ended when one of the deputies was able to taser the suspect.
The news story reports that the victim returned to her home and found the suspect at her home. She stated that the suspect seemed intoxicated, approached her, began yelling at her, and screamed in her face that he was going to kill her. The woman stated that she feared for her life, and she ran out of a backdoor inside her home.
The news report states that other witnesses stated that the suspect had entered their backyard, and began to destroy their property, and stole one of their tiki torches. Other witnesses reported that the suspect walked toward them and made harassing comments to them about guns and ammunition. One more witness told law enforcement that they witnessed the suspect chasing a girl with a log and attempting to strike the girl with the log. Two children were interviewed by law enforcement and told the investigators that the suspect ordered them to walk down the road and find a female, and the children were afraid to disobey the suspect. The children feared the man because the man allegedly assaulted the children earlier that evening.
Florida Assault Statute 784.011 - Assault
According to Florida Criminal Statute 784.011, assault is a crime when an individual deliberately inflict bodily injury on another person or the perpetrator makes an “unlawful threat by word,” and that threat produces a reasonable fear in the victim so that the victim has a reason to believe the act of violence is imminent. In the State of Florida, the crime of assault is usually a second-degree misdemeanor. If found guilty of second-degree assault, the defendant could face punishments such as a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail.