A former U.S. Attorney who previously represented the government in a January 6 case has been arrested after allegedly stabbing a motorist on an Old Tampa Bay bridge.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the incident occurred on Tuesday when a 40-year-old Tampa man and his 43-year-old wife were driving south on Interstate 75. They encountered a vehicle stopped in the travel lanes of the Howard Frankland Bridge around 9:24 am. The driver of the vehicle, a 35-year-old Tampa resident, was slumped over inside.
The couple pulled in front of the vehicle to offer assistance, but the 40-year-old man was unable to enter the vehicle. He returned to his car to retrieve an object that could break the window. As he did so, the 35-year-old driver woke up, accelerated forward into the couple's vehicle, and then reversed in an attempt to maneuver around their car.
While trying to get around the car, the 35-year-old driver collided with another vehicle driven by 38-year-old Patrick Douglas Scruggs. Scruggs, who had been passing by the scene, stopped his car, got out, and approached the driver who had hit him. Allegedly, Scruggs broke a window and began stabbing the 35-year-old driver with a pocketknife.
The couple tried to intervene but were reportedly threatened by Scruggs with the knife. Fortunately, a St. Petersburg Police Department officer happened to be passing by and stopped to assist. The officer detained Scruggs and called for backup.
The 35-year-old driver was transported to a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Scruggs was subsequently arrested and charged with aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and armed burglary. He was released from Pinellas County Jail on Tuesday night after posting $65,000 bail.
Eyewitness Tara Jex Iglinski, whose post about the incident has since been removed, described seeing a man holding a knife and the injured driver's arms sticking out of the window, appearing as though he was pleading for help. Iglinski took photos that showed the man with the knife and the driver with bloody arms. She stated that she did not know what had transpired before or after she arrived at the scene.
In a press release from 2013, it was announced that Scruggs had been appointed to the US Attorney's Office in Tampa, where he was assigned to the Narcotics Section. Prior to that, he had worked in the Prescription Drug Investigation Unit of the New York County District Attorney's Office and had obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.
Scruggs had recently appeared on behalf of the federal government in hearings related to Florida residents facing charges in connection with the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. In one such case, Scruggs had requested restrictions, including a nightly curfew, drug testing, and the surrender of the defendant's passport, for Adam Christian Johnson, also known as the "Podium Guy" due to photos of him walking in the Capitol with the House Speaker's podium.
The motive behind Scruggs' alleged attack on the motorist remains unclear.
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