A Tampa woman faces felony charges after she allegedly drove her vehicle at someone Sept. 14 in Anna Maria.
Mercedes Fernandez, 65, faces three charges: aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, battery on a person 65 years old or older and trespass after warning.
Fernandez arrived in the 800 block of North Shore Drive and, according to a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office report, drove onto private property after repeatedly being told not to for more than four hours.
Fernandez also was asked by her aunt, who was the caregiver to the man she later allegedly assaulted, to leave the property. However, she waited in her car outside the property.
The man, on foot, opened the gate surrounding the community when Fernandez’s aunt returned to meet him for dinner. Fernandez then drove her car at a slow speed at the man.
The man told the MCSO deputy she struck him with the car and blood and marks were found on the hood of the car, matching the man’s account of events.
The man grabbed a dog out of the passenger seat of Fernandez’s car, telling officers he knew that if he took the dog out of the car, she would stop driving.
According to the report, Fernandez got out of her car and began hitting the man on his left arm, while he held it in a defensive position. The man pulled a cane away from Fernandez, causing her to fall to the ground.
The man sustained several cuts on his left arm and was still bleeding when the MCSO deputy arrived on the scene.
Fernandez will be arraigned Oct. 3 at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.