A judge sentenced a former Cary police officer to six months of probation and anger management in a case where authorities said he slammed a woman to the ground and stomped on her face outside a Florida bar.
Jeremy T. Dutton, 30, of Woodstock, pleaded no contest in absentia, meaning he was not present in court, to one count of disorderly conduct, a second-degree misdemeanor, in Florida.
Sarasota County Judge Maryann Olson Uzabel withheld adjudication, which under Florida law means Dutton was not formally convicted of the offense.
Uzabel sentenced Dutton this month to six months of county probation with mail-in reporting and ordered him to complete an eight-hour anger management course, court records show.
Dutton was also ordered to submit to random urinalysis, not consume alcohol or illegal drugs and have no direct or indirect contact with the victim.
His probation will be terminated early once he completes the terms, which he must finish within four months.
Uzabel reserved ruling on restitution for 60 days. The plea form Dutton signed also listed a substance abuse program as part of his sentence.
Prosecutors dropped charges of battery and resisting an officer without violence, both first-degree misdemeanors, and amended a charge of disorderly intoxication to disorderly conduct. Dutton paid $268 in court costs and fees.
The charges stemmed from an incident that the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office responded to around 2:12 a.m. on March 1 at Gateway Live, a bar at 6531 Gateway Avenue in Sarasota, Florida.
A deputy arrived and spoke with a woman who said a shirtless man had slammed her on the ground and kicked her, according to an arrest report.
She pointed to the man, later identified as Dutton, as he was walking away north through the parking lot toward Mall Drive, the report said.
The woman said Dutton had been arguing with multiple patrons and staff in front of Gateway Live and started to yell at her when she asked what was going on.
She told the deputy she tried to walk away but Dutton followed her and wrapped his arm around her neck, then pulled her down to the ground, causing her head to strike a concrete parking block.
The woman said Dutton got back up and stomped on the right side of her face twice with his foot.
She said she lost consciousness for a short time after the two stomps and had pain in her jaw and felt like her teeth were loose.
She also had scrapes to the left side of her face and chin, her left elbow and her right hand, the report said.
The deputy located Dutton at the north end of the parking lot, where he was visibly intoxicated and had blood on his face, according to the report.
Dutton sat on the ground when told to but kept asking why he needed to sit and tried to stand up twice, the report said.
The deputy grabbed Dutton by the right arm and he continued to stand and tried to walk away while pulling his arm from the deputy’s grasp.
Two bystanders grabbed Dutton’s other arm and legs and helped the deputy perform a leg sweep and take him to the ground where he was handcuffed until other deputies arrived, the report said.
A witness told the deputy he saw Dutton grab the woman and slam her onto the ground, causing her to hit her head.
The witness said he then watched Dutton kick the woman in the face twice before bystanders intervened and pulled Dutton away, punching and kicking him until he stopped fighting.
The woman was transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where doctors said she possibly suffered a broken jaw and further imaging was needed to determine the full extent of her injuries, the report said.
Dutton was checked by rescue crews and refused transport to the hospital.
He was taken to the sheriff’s office where he was uncooperative with deputies’ questioning and did not make any statements, the report said.
Dutton was initially charged with felony battery, a third-degree felony, and resisting an officer without violence.
His arrest report listed his occupation as a detective with the Cary Police Department.
Judge McHugh found probable cause for both charges at Dutton’s first appearance hearing and set bond at $20,000 on the battery charge and $500 on the resisting charge.
McHugh also ordered Dutton to be placed on supervised pretrial release with conditions barring him from consuming alcohol and illegal drugs and requiring random testing.
Dutton was released from custody after posting bond.
Prosecutors later declined to pursue the felony charge and refiled the case with misdemeanor charges of battery, resisting an officer without violence and disorderly intoxication.
The decision came after Dutton’s attorney filed a motion asking a judge to end his supervised release and free him from his bond requirements.
Defense attorney Richard Eisenberg said in the motion that Dutton had been on supervised release for 98 days without being formally charged, which is beyond the 60 days allowed under Florida’s rules.
Eisenberg said video evidence showed Dutton being pushed backward by a group of people directly into the woman, knocking her down.
Dutton’s momentum then threw him into another person, who stopped him from falling backward onto the pavement, Eisenberg said.
“Mr. Dutton never kicked the complainant, but he, in fact, was thrown to the concrete by a man, and afterward, he was kicked and beaten by a bunch of thugs,” Eisenberg said in the motion.
“All the while, Mr. Dutton never raised a hand at any of them,” Eisenberg said.
The defense turned over videos from outside Gateway Live and Rico’s Pizza from around 2 a.m. that morning as part of discovery, court records show.
Eisenberg said Dutton, who has no prior criminal history, tested negative for alcohol and illegal drugs on three separate occasions while on supervised release.
Eisenberg said Dutton worked for the Cary Police Department for almost seven years and was assigned as a detective at the time of his arrest.
Dutton resigned as a result of the arrest and now works as a construction worker, Eisenberg said.
The Cary Police Department previously told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that it was “immediately” made aware of the arrest and placed Dutton on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
Dutton resigned before the internal investigation was completed and his final day of employment with the village was April 9, the police department said.
His last day actually worked was February 26, shortly before the incident in Florida.
Dutton’s bonds have since been released and the case is closed, court records show.