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Driver Targets Squad Car After Stop, Pinellas Deputies Say

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 6, 2008

PALM HARBOR - Moments after he was ticketed for running a stop sign Thursday, a Safety Harbor man tried to ram the squad car of the Pinellas County sheriff's deputy who had stopped him - and subsequently was arrested, authorities said.

Anthony Louis Lanni, 30, was originally given tickets for running the stop sign and for having a license plate that wasn't clearly visible, said sheriff's spokeswoman Cecilia Barreda. The license plate was covered in plastic.

After he tried to ram the deputy's squad car with his BMW, officials say, Lanni was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, reckless driving, and resisting arrest without violence.

He was being held at Pinellas County Jail. Bail was set at $5,400.

A deputy saw Lanni run the stop sign on Lake St. George Drive at roughly 12:15 a.m., Barreda said. She said that after the deputy activated his lights, Lanni drove a couple of blocks before he stopped.

When the deputy approached the BMW, Lanni demanded to know why he was stopped, and became verbally abusive toward the deputy, Barreda said. But then Lanni received his tickets, and it appeared everyone would go on their way, she said.

As the deputy was leaving, however, he saw the BMW drive at him, and the deputy had to swerve out of the way, Barreda said. A second stop was initiated, and Lanni was taken into custody.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampa

trib.com.

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