Hernando County teen faces assault, marijuana possession charges

Brooksville

Teen is accused of punching student

A 14-year-old boy faces criminal charges after being accused of punching a classmate at STAR Education Center, possessing marijuana and trying to run away from authorities while handcuffed, authorities said.

The teen, who is not being identified by the St. Petersburg Times because he is a juvenile, was arrested and booked into the Hernando County Jail on Monday. He was set to be transferred to the Department of Juvenile Justice holding facility in Ocala.

According to the arrest report, the teen got into an argument with a classmate while getting onto a bus at the end of the school day.

The boy allegedly struck his classmate on the right cheek and then ran away when the school resource officer tried to speak with him.

The officer caught up with the teen about a mile away from campus on Oak Street and then took him into custody. A Brooksville police officer returned the boy to the school.

At the school, principal John Stratton told authorities that a green cellophane bag had dropped to the floor while the boy was handcuffed and was squirming around in a chair in his office.

While the school resource officer tried to weigh the substance inside the bag, the teen allegedly left the office and tried again to run away from the school.

The boy was captured a short distance from the school, according to the report. Later, the substance in the bag tested positive for marijuana.

Authorities also learned of another alleged assault against the victim earlier in the day. The victim's parents later agreed to press charges against that teen.

The 14-year-old student now faces a felony charge of escape and misdemeanor charges of battery, marijuana possession and resisting an officer without violence.

Driver in fatal truck wreck is identified

The Florida Highway Patrol has identified the victim of a fatal single-vehicle wreck last week as Joey Tyner, 53, of Land O'Lakes.

Tyner was driving a 2003 Chevrolet pickup west on County Line Road east of Mariner Boulevard.

When approaching slower traffic about 10 a.m., he drove onto the grass shoulder on the north side of the road.

Tyner, who was alone in the truck, continued heading west, driving around a wooden utility pole and then passing a slower-moving car.

He then drove southwest across both lanes of County Line, over-corrected and then went back across County Line onto the north shoulder again.

The truck struck a wooden utility pole and a barbed-wire fence before coming to rest facing southeast in an empty field north of County Line.

Tyner was pronounced dead at the scene.

Times staff writer