Court proceedings on an unrelated misdemeanor charge for one of the suspects in a Holmes Beach aggravated battery case may add a wrinkle to the case.
Cameron Evans, 18, remains at large in connection with the alleged battery of a Holmes Beach resident.
The Sarasota resident is one of three teenagers the Holmes Beach Police Department identified as assailants in an alleged March 23 aggravated battery at about 9 p.m. outside Anna Maria Elementary School, 4700 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, that sent Evan Purcell, 41, of Holmes Beach, to the hospital.
The HBPD also sought Ellenton resident John Bartholow, 17, and an unnamed juvenile as suspects in connection with the incident.
Police found and arrested Bartholow and the third juvenile surrendered and was released to his parents’ custody.
Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer told The Islander April 6 that police had received several tips about Evans’ location but none proved productive.
“But we want people to keep calling, we want to get the tips,” Tokajer said. “We’d like to get him off the streets for the safety of our residents and visitors.”
Evans already is facing a prior battery charge.
He is facing a first-degree misdemeanor for an alleged Jan. 23 battery that stemmed from an argument outside a Parrish gas station.
According to a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Feb. 7 complaint for an arrest warrant, Bartholow, who was driving a vehicle with Evans as a passenger, accepted money from a person to give a ride home to one of the females at the gas station.
Bartholow and Evans allegedly became aggressive after a drink spilled in Bartholow’s vehicle, the report said.
Evans allegedly opened the driver-side door of another vehicle and struck the driver’s face multiple times, while Bartholow allegedly “punched and kicked the truck’s exterior.”
Sarasota County sheriff’s deputies arrested Evans March 13 and transported him to the Sarasota County jail, where he was released the next day after posting $500 bail.
Bartholow was not charged in the incident.
Evans’ arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, April 18, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
If he does not attend the arraignment he risks additional penalties, such as an additional first-degree misdemeanor charge for failing to appear in court and bond forfeiture, according to state law.
People with information about the case or Evans can contact HBPD Detective Josh Fleischer at fleischerj@holmesbeach.org or at 941-708-5800, ext. 270.
People who wish to report information and remain anonymous can call Manatee County Crime Stoppers, which is offering a $3,000 reward for information that leads to Evans’ arrest, at 866-634-TIPS.
GoFundMe for HB battery victim reaches $16,000
A GoFundMe campaign to fund Evan Purcell’s hospital bills is more than three-fifths of the way to its $25,000 goal.
Purcell’s brother, Jon, began the campaign March 26 to fund the cost of “major surgery” and multiple trauma for his brother, who was beaten to unconsciousness in an alleged March 23 aggravated battery.
The campaign had raised $16,915 from 163 donors as of April 7.
The campaign is at gofundme.com/f/evan-purcell-hospital-bills.
— Ryan Paice