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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Man tasered after towering over screaming pregnant woman holding her dog

LaSaxon Cortez Pinellas

A Silver Springs man who was standing over a screaming pregnant woman clutching her dog was tasered and then arrested this past Thursday afternoon.

When a Marion County sheriff’s deputy arrived at the home on NE 56th Avenue, he quickly drew his firearm and commanded 31-year-old LaSaxon Cortez Pinellas to put his hands on his head. When he didn’t comply, the deputy drew his taser and told him several more times to walk outside with his hands on his head, a sheriff’s office report states.

Pinellas finally complied but kept taking his hands off his head and dropping them toward his sides and pockets. He also “started to yell” at the deputy, telling him “he did not do anything,” the report says.

After Pinellas refused to sit down with his hands on his head, the deputy attempted to put him in handcuffs. But he snatched his hands away twice and started to walk back inside the house. The deputy then deployed his taser, forcing Pinellas to the ground so he could take him into custody, the report says.

The woman told the deputy that she was trying to get her keys inside the home when Pinellas blocked her from doing so. She claimed he punched her in the head, which knocked her onto the bed, and then started to choke her to the point where she couldn’t breathe, the report says.

The woman added that she “almost went unconscious” and “felt dizzy afterwards.” She said she hit a button on her phone that called 911 and attempted to get away from Pinellas, the report says, adding that the deputy noted a large knot on her forehead with swelling.

After speaking with the deputy, the woman was examined by paramedics and transported to a local hospital for further evaluation after saying she felt like she was going to pass out.

Pinellas, who admitted knowing the woman was pregnant, told the deputy “nothing physical happened” and that she “just started to yell” at him because she wanted to go to her parents’ home, the report says.

Pinellas was transported to the Marion County Jail and charged with domestic battery by strangulation, aggravated battery on a pregnant victim and resisting arrest without violence. He was released Monday afternoon on $12,000 bond.

Pinellas, who has been in the Marion County Jail 16 times since May 2005, is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 23 at 9 a.m. to answer to the charges.