St. Pete man gets drunk, falls off bicycle, hits man at hospital with folding chair, police say

ST. PETERSBURG — A 23-year-old man hospitalized Monday for falling off his bike after drinking too much was arrested later that day after police said he struck another man with a folding chair at Bayfront Health St. Petersburg.

Jimmy McCray faces a charge of battery, police said. The incident took place at 11 a.m. Monday. Police said McCray was brought to the hospital after falling off a bicycle and "appeared to have been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident," according to an arrest report.

While being treated at the hospital, officers said McCray "removed a C-clamp from around his neck, jumped out of bed and approached his girlfriend in (the) emergency room," a report states.

Staff members asked him to return to bed, but he became angry and picked up a metal folding chair and swung it around, police said, hitting a man in the leg. Hospital security then restrained McCray and secured him to a hospital bed with leather straps, the report said.

He was then booked into the Pinellas County jail and soon freed after posting $500 bail. The man who was hit by the chair suffered minor injuries to his elbows while helping restrain McCray, police said.