Three men were arrested and charged with assault and battery in Hillsborough County following a Tampa robbery at Charley’s Steak House on Cypress Street. The three men are in jail for allegedly robbing the steak house with an assault rifle outfitted with a bayonet. The police chase ended with one of the suspects leaping into Old Tampa Bay.
The attempted robbery took place just after midnight and the suspects reportedly escaped the restaurant with a bag full of cash before jumping into a Lexus SUV. Police eventually caught up with the SUV that was reportedly involved in the robbery on the Howard Franklin Bridge. Officers were able to box the SUV in. At that point one of the men inside the silver Lexus got out of the vehicle and jumped off the bridge into the bay. The suspect was fished out of the water by police using a rope and his police cruiser’s rear seat which can be used a floatation device.

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Two Tampa men are under arrest charged with multiple counts including aggravated assault on a firefighter after threatening two Tampa firemen and landing themselves in the Hillsborough County jail. The Tampa Tribune is reporting that Tampa firefighters were called out to a backyard fire when two men threatened them with a dog if they did not leave the property.
The incident took place Saturday afternoon on Plymouth Street in Tampa. The fire was in the backyard and firefighters tried to enter the property in an attempt to get the fire under control. At that point two men with a dog on a long leash told the firefighters to leave the area or they would have the dog attack the firefighters. Things got even uglier at that point according to the on-line story when police arrived. One of the men began to tussle with police.

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There is an old advertising slogan that said “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk” and that is exactly what a pair of friends tried to do in Manatee after a Saturday night out drinking. The only problem is the friend they tried to stop from drunk driving got so mad he hit one of his friends with a car and then beat him up leading to aggravated battery charges among other charges.
According to Bradenton.com, Severiamo Ruiz was at a party and was preparing to drive off at approximately 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Two of his friends, fearing he would be stopped for a DUI, tried to persuade him not to drive. Despite the effort of his friends, one male and one female, Ruiz still got behind the wheel and left the party.

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Pedro Rafael Perez was arrested and charged with aggravated battery in Pasco County following an incident where he struck a man with a glass. Perez was taken to Pasco County jail and held on $10,000 bail. Records show he has an arrest warrant in Pinellas County for a violation of probation on a misdemeanor charge.
According to TampaBay.com and police reports, the victim of the alleged battery was at Perez’s home when an argument started. Perez felt that Jerry Campbell had disrespected his family. A witness then reported that Perez struck Campbell in the face with a glass causing deep cuts. Campbell received staples for his cuts at Morton Plant North Bay Hospital.

A Sebring man decided not to press charges against his roommate after he cut him with a knife but after the same man beat him in his sleep he decided to have the roommate arrested. TBO.com is reporting that Osman Martinez-Ventura was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, a misdemeanor count of loitering and another count of aggravated battery for the attack on his roommate.
Sebring Police originally tried to arrest Martinez-Venture in his home after he cut the victim on the thumb with a knife. The victim was uncooperative and would not press charges but he changed his mind after the second incident. He told police he was a sleep when his roommate began to punch him in the face repeatedly. The victim was found by police with blood all over his face and arms in front of a liquor store in Highlands County.

Maryann Verdi was arrested this past weekend and charged with domestic battery, resisting an officer with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer. The 39-year-old is a River Ridge High School teacher and Pasco County school officials are reviewing the situation before taking any action. Her exact position at the school is listed as literacy coach.
According to TBO.com, Verdi and her husband had an argument in their home. Her husband tried to leave but Verdi began to throw things at him but there were apparently no injuries. When a deputy arrived on the scene at Verdi’s brother’s home, the woman struck the deputy in the arm, poked her in the eye and pulled her hair.

A 20-year-old man in jail awaiting to be sentenced on an armed robbery charge will also now have to face battery charges. Cody Rogers is being accused of beating up an inmate on March 22 and is now facing charges of battery on a detained person. Authorities charged Rogers after viewing video footage.
Rogers is connected to Timothy Brooks, who is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of 19-year-old William White, Jr. in 2008. Rogers and Brooks were involved in an armed robbery that ended up with Brooks firing a shot and hitting White in the neck and killing the teenage

A 2009 bar fight has led to aggravated battery charges being filed against Hudson, Florida 31-year-old Clayton Towne. The man known as “Snake” allegedly punched Thomas Baldoni in the eye during a fight at MacDaddy’s Pub causing the 42-year-old to lose sight in his right eye. The fight occurred November 20 and Towne was arrested Thursday and booked into Land O’Lakes jail on $20,000 bond.
Towne has claimed he acted in self-defense but Baldoni and his son both claim Towne hit the man several times while he was caring a friend. Baldoni was flown to St. Petersburg’s Bayfront Medical Center after he was discovered in the bar’s parking lot. Baldoni was unconscious. There is no mention of Towne being represented by a Tampa Criminal Defense Lawyer.

A domestic dispute between a pair of exes turned dangerous in Manatee County Wednesday. According to Bradenton.com 19-year-old Rinsheena Mitchell is in jail on two charges of aggravated battery, one with a car and the other with a box cutter. According to the story she was being held on $100,000 bond and there was no mention that she was being represented by a Sarasota Criminal Attorney at this time.
The Palmetto woman allegedly got into an argument with her ex-boyfriend over their child, which escalated to the point in which she him with a car. Mitchell then began to argue with the man’s current girlfriend and cut her in the neck with a box cutter, which police say they later discovered on the woman.

A former Tampa Bay Buccaneer had his third-degree felony charge of domestic battery reduced to a misdemeanor battery charge . According to TBO.com Hillsborough County prosecutors made the decision to reduce the charge last week. There was no comment in the story from Jermaine Phillips or his Tampa Criminal Attorney.
The charges stemmed from an incident between Phillips and his wife. Back at the time of his arrest police had reported that the current free agent admitted to pushing his wife in the neck following an argument. He is scheduled to be arraigned April 19.