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Deputy reprimanded for restaurant dispute
The deputy who investigated the confrontation in Tarpon Springs also gets a counseling letter.
By Times Staff Writer
Published November 10, 2005
The off-duty deputy, dressed in plainclothes, had at least two beers at dinner.
And he acknowledged acting rudely during an argument with another restaurant patron. But the deputy was justified in arresting the patron, whom he accused of grabbing him by the neck during the argument, according to an internal investigation by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
Cpl. James Jeffrey Fresh was given a letter of reprimand, which cites unprofessional behavior toward a 58-year-old Holiday man in Snookers Grill in Tarpon Springs on April 16.
A report on the internal investigation, completed in September, notes that prosecutors found "probable cause" for the arrest, though insufficient evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
Fresh, 36, arrested Robert Singleton on charges of battery and burglary.
Inside the restaurant, the pair argued about Fresh's treatment of a waitress. Outside, Fresh said, Singleton reached into the deputy's black convertible 2005 BMW and grabbed him by the neck. The burglary charge stemmed from the allegation that Singleton reached into the car.
Singleton says Fresh grabbed him first, and he only touched Fresh to push him away.
The incident was detailed in the St. Petersburg Times. The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office declined to prosecute.
The sheriff's office has issued a letter of counseling to Deputy Thomas Swetokos, who investigated the incident.
An internal report calls Swetokos' investigation substandard, noting that he failed to "make any apparent effort, or express any interest in following up with" witnesses identified by Tarpon Springs police.
"The local newspaper later found and interviewed some of those witnesses," the letter of counseling says, "obtaining statements that could have become part of your original report."
[Last modified November 10, 2005, 01:20:16]
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