Man arrested on charge of assault with canned goods

Thursday, July 10

Assault and cannery

6:45 p.m., South Pineapple Avenue at South Lemon Avenue

Battery: Sitting at a table in a park, a man told an officer that he and the complainant, a woman, approached him and, in random fashion, referred to him by a racial epithet. An argument ensued during which the man said the woman reached into her purse in such a fashion that he believed her to be retrieving a knife.

Feeling threatened, he said he picked up some canned goods and threw them in her direction out of self-defense. He first told officers the woman never brandished a knife nor directed any threats toward him.

An officer then spoke with the woman who had left the area in fear of the man. She said she was in the park area with a male friend and offered the canned goods to the man out of an act of kindness. Why she then uttered the epithet was not addressed in the report.

At this point, the stories told by both parties began to vary. During the argument, the woman said out of anger she threw an empty bottle at a tree in the opposite direction and that the man then picked it up and threw it back at her. He then, she said, picked up the canned goods and threw them at her with one can bouncing off a bench and striking her in the shin, leaving a noticeable red mark.

The man then admitted to throwing a wooden food tray at her and began chasing her around the park. That’s when she left the area and called law enforcement.

Hearing enough, officers placed the man under arrest and read the can thrower his rights. That’s when the man changed his story to state the woman pulled a knife and began walking toward him, initiating the retaliatory salvo of launched canned goods. He also recanted his admission to throwing the food tray and following her around the park area. 

The woman’s friend chimed in, stating he was uncertain of the number of canned goods hurled, that the man did chase her around the park at one point getting close enough to tear a piece of jewelry from her. 

All canned goods were located on scene and photographed. It was determined that probable cause existed to charge the man with simple battery with bodily harm and was transported to Sarasota County Jail.

Saturday, July 12

Drive-by flip-off

1:45 p.m., 1600 block of Main Street

Disturbance: While enjoying a peaceful al-fresco lunch in downtown, a man told an officer his ex-wife drive past and, reaching out the window directed toward him the international single-fingered salute, double-barrel style.

He reported that she then exited her parked vehicle, approached him on foot and began yelling at him regarding a prior incident that involved the man and her father. After a short interaction she then left the scene heading eastbound Main Street,

The man stated the interaction was only verbal in nature. The man was advised to contact the police if she returns so officers can issue a trespassing warning from the business.