With head bowed and fully shackled, confessed Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz appeared in court Wednesday afternoon to face more charges for fighting with a deputy in a Broward County jail.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Tribune News Service) — With head bowed and fully shackled, confessed Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz appeared in court Wednesday afternoon to face more charges for fighting with a deputy in a Broward County jail.
Preliminary bond was set at $200,000 for two of the charges — battery on an officer and using a stun gun against a law enforcement officer.
To allow lawyers to gather testimony, a judge set another hearing for Friday afternoon about a charge Cruz also faces, aggravated assault on an officer.
Cruz’s latest arrest came after deputies say he flipped his middle finger at a detention deputy and then went on the attack.
Cruz is accused of punching Sgt. Raymond Beltran’s head, wrestling him on the ground and taking his stun gun to shock him, the Broward Sheriff’s Office says.
According to the incident report, Beltran was in a dayroom area guarding Cruz about 6 p.m. Tuesday.
When Beltran asked Cruz not to drag his sandals as he walked around the room, Cruz gave him the middle finger. Beltran stood up and Cruz rushed him.
Cruz punched Beltran in the face and they both fell to the ground, the report said. They struggled until Cruz was on top of Beltran, repeatedly punching the deputy’s head with his right hand, the report said.
Another detention staffer witnessed the fight and called for backup.
While on the ground, Beltran managed to roll on top of Cruz who then grabbed at the Taser and removed it from the deputy’s holster. As the two wrestled, the device discharged but no one was shocked.
Beltran regained control of the Taser and punched Cruz in the face. After that, Cruz retreated and sat down in a dayroom chair, the report said.
Security cameras recorded the attack on video which will not be released during the ongoing investigation, officials said.
Sgt. Anthony Marciano, director for the Federation of Public and Private Employees which represents detention deputies and sergeants inside the Broward County jails, said Beltran “was attacked. He was in an altercation, but at no point in time was he ever incapacitated.”
He said Beltran handled the situation in an appropriate way, and that the video would back him up.
“We’re not expecting the sergeant (Beltran) to be disciplined in any way,” Marciano said.
Marciano said he was not yet aware of any injuries Beltran may have had from the assault, but said Beltran will be advised to seek medical treatment anyway.
“When someone is in an altercation with an inmate, we recommend they go to a doctor to document any possible injuries,” Marciano said.
During Wednesday’s bond hearing, Cruz was seen on screens in the courtroom in video that was live streamed from the jail.
Five deputies escorted him, and he did not look up. Stenciled on the back of his orange scrubs was the phrase “Max Custody Inmate.”
Assistant Public Defender Joseph Burke asked that photographs are taken of any injuries Cruz may have from the fight with Beltran. Judge Kim Theresa Mollica granted that request.
Cruz has been held in custody since Feb. 14, the day of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 students and staff dead and 17 more wounded.
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