He is accused of aiming a car at a deputy while eluding officers who were trying to arrest another man.
By KATHERINE K. LEE
Published August 5, 2005
PALM HARBOR - A man suspected in the assault of a sheriff's deputy in July was arrested Wednesday after he turned himself in to Pinellas County Jail on an unrelated warrant.
Tony W. Farley, 22, of St. Petersburg was arrested on one count of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and one count of possession of cocaine, according to records.
Farley had been a suspect in the assault of Deputy Frank N. Felicetta III, who was trying to serve an arrest warrant at a house in Palm Harbor on July 13.
Deputies had gone to 2382 Knoll Ave. S at 11:55 p.m. to arrest Christopher Moore, 18. When they saw an Oldsmobile drive up to the house, they thought the driver might be Moore, who was being sought on a charge of violating probation.
The driver stepped out of the car but got back inside after Felicetta approached him. The driver backed quickly away but was blocked by an undercover officer in an unmarked vehicle, authorities said.
The driver then shifted gears and started forward, swerving to aim the car at Felicetta, who had been standing a bit off to one side, said sheriff's spokesman Mac McMullen.
When the car was less than 10 feet away, Felicetta fired one shot through the driver's side of the windshield, possibly wounding the driver in the arm, McMullen said. The driver sped away, abandoning the car in the Country Grove neighborhood about three-quarters of a mile away and fleeing on foot.
Deputies used dogs and a helicopter to search the area, but could not find the man.
Detectives identified the driver as Farley, who was apparently driving his girlfriend's car the night of the incident, McMullen said. His girlfriend, Joanne Moore, 20, is the sister of Christopher Moore.
McMullen said Farley may have been hiding in Pasco County before he turned himself in to authorities. Detectives had been working with his family to get him to surrender on a Pasco County warrant and come in for questioning in the shooting. While detectives were interviewing Farley, they noticed he had glass fragments in his right arm and what appeared to be a grazing bullet wound on his upper right arm.
The charge of cocaine possession stemmed from detectives' discovery of cocaine behind a residence near where the Oldsmobile was abandoned.
Felicetta, a 10-year sheriff's veteran, was placed on paid administrative leave pending a review of the incident. He returned to duty a few days later. The investigation is continuing, McMullen said.
