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Deputy no longer facing charge

Prosecutors say his actions in a confrontation with youths were necessary.

By CHRIS TISCH
Published January 5, 2006

LARGO - Prosecutors will not pursue criminal charges against a Pinellas sheriff's detention deputy who got into a confrontation with a teenage boy outside his home last year.

Largo police arrested Mario R. Velazquez, 39, on a misdemeanor battery charge in November. Prosecutors decided last week not to pursue the charge.

Because Velazquez was not arrested on a felony charge, he remained on the job and is still employed at the Sheriff's Office, said Sgt. Jim Border, an agency spokesman.

Largo police arrested Velazquez after a 17-year-old boy said he shoved his badge into his forehead during a confrontation. Velazquez, who had previously told the boy to stay away from his daughter, found him on his property that day, police said.

The boy, who has 26 criminal charges on his juvenile record, also told police that the deputy threatened him and several friends with a gun.

Velazquez denied touching the boy's forehead with the badge and said the boy had become confrontational. He told police he felt threatened by the boy and his group of friends, who he said were growing increasingly aggressive.

Velazquez, who was off duty at the time, said he kept the gun at his side and did not point it toward any of the youths, said Bruce Bartlett, the chief assistant in State Attorney Bernie McCabe's office.

Bartlett said prosecutors decided Velazquez's actions were necessary and not unlawful.

[Last modified January 5, 2006, 01:18:19]