Crime & Safety
Arrest Made in Assault on Soccer Referee
A Tampa man confessed to punching a soccer ref in the head during a July match in Clearwater and fleeing.
Clearwater Police have arrested and charged a Tampa man who they say punched a soccer referee in the head during a July match and fled.
Ramon Mitchell, 25, was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on Thursday on a felony battery charge after confessing to the crime, the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Authorities originally were looking for two men in connection to the attack, which happened during a club soccer game at Joe DiMaggio Fields. They revised the names of the suspects after they believed they were provided with false names.
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"There was a lot of confusion," Clearwater spokeswoman Joelle Castelli told the Times. "There was a language barrier."
Castelli told the newspaper Mitchell is the only suspect in the assault, in which referee Rafael Serrano was hospitalized with a separated shoulder.
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Related Coverage:
- Search Continues For Soccer Players Accused of Assaulting a Referee
- Police: Soccer Referee Assaulted By Two Players
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