A 35-year-old Lakeland man with a long history of run-ins with local law enforcement is facing a stack of felony and misdemeanor charges after deputies say he threw a glass beer bottle at a moving vehicle, then kicked a deputy in the face while resisting arrest outside a Kathleen Road gas station. Herschel Leroy Burdine III was booked into the Polk County Jail following the confrontation, which unfolded late at night near the fuel pumps of a busy convenience store north of Interstate 4.
Polk County deputies responded around 11 p.m. on August 4 to a report that a man had thrown a glass beer bottle at a vehicle outside Nick and Moe's, the store located at 4410 Kathleen Road in Lakeland, according to Tampa Free Press. The station reports that Burdine had been soliciting money outside the store and ignored the vehicle's occupant before throwing the bottle. Deputies located him near the store's fuel pumps, and he fled on foot as officers approached.
Deputy's Taser Missed as Chase Turned Physical
During the pursuit, a deputy fired a Taser at Burdine, but the probes missed him, per the same account. Burdine was apprehended shortly after slipping on wet grass, at which point he allegedly kicked a deputy in the face and thrashed around inside the patrol car once he was placed inside it. He is also accused of kicking the patrol car door, causing damage to the vehicle.
Once at the sheriff's processing center, Burdine was booked on an extensive list of charges, the report notes: throwing a deadly missile at a vehicle, battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence, resisting arrest without violence, criminal mischief, and disorderly intoxication. Deputies also discovered that Burdine had an active warrant for failure to pay child support at the time of his arrest, according to the outlet.
What the Charges Could Mean Under Florida Law
The most serious charge Burdine faces, throwing a deadly missile at an occupied or moving vehicle, is classified as a second-degree felony under Florida Statute § 790.19 and carries up to 15 years in state prison and a $10,000 fine, according to the Sammis Law Firm. Florida courts have broadly defined deadly missiles to include hard objects like glass bottles that are capable of causing great bodily harm.
Battery on a law enforcement officer is normally a first-degree misdemeanor, but Florida Statute § 784.07 reclassifies it as a third-degree felony carrying up to five years in prison whenever the victim is an officer performing official duties, per Hanlon Law. Similarly, resisting an officer with violence is a third-degree felony under Florida Statute § 843.01 punishable by up to five years in prison, regardless of whether the deputy suffered a lasting injury, according to Matthew Glassman Law. Fleeing on foot after a lawful command to stop, meanwhile, constitutes a separate misdemeanor charge of resisting without violence under Florida Statute § 843.02, carrying up to a year in jail, as detailed by the Schoen Law Firm.
The criminal mischief charge tied to the damaged patrol car door hinges on the dollar value of the repairs. Under Florida Statute § 806.13, criminal mischief is a first-degree misdemeanor when damage falls between $200 and $1,000, but escalates to a third-degree felony carrying up to five years in prison once damage exceeds $1,000, according to Russo Law & Advocacy. The exact repair cost for the patrol car has not been disclosed.
Child Support Warrant Adds a Civil Wrinkle
The active warrant for failure to pay child support that deputies found during the arrest stems from a separate civil process. In Florida, unpaid court-ordered child support can prompt a circuit court to issue a writ of bodily attachment, a civil enforcement order entered into statewide law enforcement databases that authorizes any sheriff to take the person into custody, according to the Jacobs Law Firm. It remains unclear whether that warrant will be resolved separately from the criminal charges stemming from the gas station confrontation.
A Long Record in Polk County
Burdine's criminal history extends well beyond this latest arrest. Per the Polk County Sheriff's Office, he had already been booked into the Polk County Jail 15 times and served two Florida state prison sentences by September 2016, and his record includes prior charges for motor vehicle theft, grand theft, violation of probation, retail theft, battery, drug possession, aggravated assault, burglary, false imprisonment, and robbery.
That history includes a documented pattern of convenience store thefts in the Lakeland area. In July 2015, deputies arrested Burdine for felony petit theft after surveillance video captured him stealing property from a Circle K on US 98 North in Lakeland, with the sheriff's office noting he had already accumulated 11 prior Polk County jail bookings by that point. Nick and Moe's itself, the site of the latest incident, has been the focus of multiple recent Polk County Sheriff's Office theft investigations, according to the agency.
Under Florida Statute § 812.014, third-degree grand theft, which applies to stolen property valued at $750 or more as well as motor vehicle thefts, carries a maximum penalty of five years in state prison, according to Richard Hornsby, P.A. That statute offers context for the grand theft and motor vehicle theft entries already on Burdine's record. It remains unclear what additional penalties, if any, Burdine could face if convicted on the newest round of charges stemming from the August 4 confrontation.
