A man faces robbery and assault charges following his arrest Aug. 5 in Cortez.
Deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office responded that day to a reported assault at in the 4500 block of 119th Street West, Cortez, where witnesses identified Alexis Zuniga Nava, 32, who has no known address, as the suspect.
Surveillance video showed Nava, wearing a camouflage shirt and dark pants, attacking two people with an 18-inch piece of aluminum pole.
An MCSO report said Nava attacked Scott Mora and Orfanelia Dominguez while they were operating a forklift near a boatyard. The report said: Nava struck Dominguez in the head with the pipe and took her cellphone and, when Mora tried to intervene, Nava pushed him to the ground and repeatedly punched him before running away.
Emergency medical responders treated Dominguez for a head injury. Mora declined medical treatment.
The MCSO searched in wooded areas east of the village and a K-9 unit tracked Nava to an area near Cortez Road, where he was found, in different clothes, and taken into custody.
The MCSO said Nava admitted to the attack, telling deputies that he’d had used methamphetamine the night before and was experiencing an emotional breakdown. He allegedly told deputies he knew the victims through work and took the aluminum pole from a vacant lot.
Nava was arrested and booked into the Manatee County jail in Palmetto.
Because one of the victims is over 65, a battery charge was elevated to a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Nava also faces a charge of robbery with a weapon, a first-degree felony carrying a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Deputies also learned Nava is on felony probation in Texas for criminal mischief, resulting in a charge for violation of probation.
Nava is scheduled for arraignment at 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19, at the county judicial center in Bradenton.