Former Hillsborough County deputy charged in connection to road rage incident
The Brief
A former Hillsborough County deputy has been charged in connection to a road rage incident.
Brandon Parker, 47, is charged with throwing a deadly missile at or into an occupied conveyance.
On Tuesday, the state asked the judge to set a $7,500 bond, however, the judge set a $3,500 bond.
TAMPA - A former Hillsborough County deputy is charged in connection with a road rage incident.
Brandon Parker, 47, is charged with throwing a deadly missile at or into an occupied conveyance.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says on Sunday afternoon, a driver was heading south on Bell Shoals Road when they approached a red light at the intersection of Fish Hawk Boulevard. When the light turned green, the vehicle in front of the victim didn't move, which is when the victim honked her horn to alert the driver of the green light.
Both vehicles continued on Fish Hawk Boulevard when the passenger of the suspect's vehicle started yelling at the victim, according to HCSO. Once they reached a red light at the intersection of Fish Hawk Boulevard and Mosaic Drive, the passenger of the suspect's vehicle threw a bottle at the victim, hitting her in the head.
The other side
"There's two sides to every story and I'm confident when the other side of the story is heard, Mr. Parker will be exonerated from these charges," Parker's attorney Anthony Rickman said.
Parker made a first appearance on Tuesday afternoon, where his attorney argued the probable cause in this case.
"The state must establish that Mr. Parker engaged in a wanton or malicious throwing or hurling of a hard object or stone into a vehicle," Rickman said. "In this case, Mr. Parker is alleged to have thrown a water bottle. An Evian water bottle."
Rickman argued that the water bottle was filled a quarter of the way and that the victim had minor injuries, so it doesn't qualify as a deadly missile.
"We're not talking about a Stanley," Rickman said. "We're not talking about a Yeti. We're talking about an Evian, one of those squishy Evian bottles, in the direction of the vehicle. That is the allegation."
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The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says Parker was employed from 2003-2016.
The Hillsborough County Public School District says Parker is currently employed as an investigator in its human resources department at one of the district offices.
The district says he's on administrative leave, pending board action.
"Mr. Parker has obviously had a distinguished career with Hillsborough County," Rickman said. "He has served this community his entire life. He has no criminal history."
On Tuesday, the state asked the judge to set a $7,500 bond, however, the judge set a $3,500 bond.
"I do think there's probable cause, but there's going to be some evidentiary issues," the judge said.
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Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Kylie Jones.
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