[PHOTO CREDIT: Facebook / Tavares Middle School]
[Original Publish Date: 10/05/20]
TAVARES, Florida — A Tavares Middle School student was charged with a trio of crimes in September after being unruly and “chest bumping” a Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputy, according to an arrest affidavit.
Although a felony charge is alleged, Lake Legal News considers on a case-by-case basis whether to name juveniles in its reporting; the 13-year-old boy accused here is not being named.
On Sept. 24, the TMS assistant principal requested the school resource deputy (SRD) to assist in removing the boy from the gym after the boy had been knocking on classroom doors and making aggressive remarks to a teacher. The boy’s mother was called to pick him up, but she was more than an hour away and the boy was taken to the gym and given the opportunity to “make better choices,” but failed to do so, according to the affidavit.
When the SRD approached the boy, he became argumentative, but did leave the gym, the deputy noted in the affidavit.
On the way to the office, the teenager began using profanity and ignored several commands by the SRD to stop. The SRD took the boy by the arm and began escorting him to the office and he continued to use profanity against the assistant principal and the SRD. They reached the office and the boy tried to exit the office and intentionally “chest bumped” the SRD at least three times, the affidavit states. The SRD warned him he would be arrested for battery on a law enforcement officer if he did not stop.
An hour later, the principal requested the SRD escort the boy to the restroom and when they exited the office, the boy attempted to run away. The SRD gained control of him and he became aggressive and started chest bumping the SRD again. The boy was informed he was being placed under arrest and he struggled with the deputy for about five minutes before finally being secured.
The boy was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting with violence and disrupting a school function. He was released to his mother.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. She has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
