HUDSON - A Hudson couple was jailed after sheriff's deputies accused them of leaving their 6-month-old daughter unattended in a stroller behind a bar as they drank for 41/2 hours Friday night.
Edward Petley, 41, and his wife, Melinda Petley, 35, were drinking from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Mike's Place, a lounge on U.S. 19, deputies said.
Their baby spent most of the time confined to a stroller behind the bar without being fed or changed. At one point, Edward Petley violently shook the infant during an argument with his wife, the sheriff's report said.
When deputies confronted the shrimp boat captain, Petley tried to head-butt a deputy, beat his own head against a patrol car window and threatened to kill the deputy unless his baby was returned, the report said.
Edward Petley, who deputies said had a blood alcohol level of 0.3 percent, was charged with child abuse, resisting arrest and threatening an officer. The charge against his wife was child neglect.
Prison guard accused of beating pregnant wife
ZEPHYRHILLS - A Zephyrhills Correctional Institution guard was arrested Friday and charged with beating his pregnant wife.
James Norman Leach, 25, of Zephyrhills is accused of slapping his wife on the face, slamming her arm against a car and shoving her during an argument at their home.
Leach's wife is seven months pregnant, according to a Pasco County Sheriff's Office report. Leach, who works at the prison on U.S. 301 south of the city, was jailed without bail.
Prominent county animal activist jailed Friday
LAND O'LAKES - Activist Clay Colson, known for his fiery advocacy of preserving Pasco County wildlife, was jailed Friday morning on two warrants having to do with animal violations.
Colson was arrested on charges of failing to appear in court to answer accusations that he interfered with a county animal control officer and failed to attach a tag to one of his pets, a sheriff's report said.
Colson, 47, keeps a menagerie, including dozens of dogs and cats, at his Joy Road home in Land O'Lakes. In January, Colson's neighbor, who accused him of freeing a dog from an animal control snare, was charged with pelting Colson with chunks of concrete.
It was unclear if Colson's arrest is tied to an ongoing neighborhood feud over animals that roam the rural neighborhood.
