LARGO — A Largo man is facing multiple felony charges, including attempted felony murder, after investigators say he violently attacked a woman and endangered children during a domestic incident early Tuesday morning. The incident occurred at the Seminole Square Apartments in the 2025-2035 block of Seminole Boulevard.
Anthony Jarrod Bell, 29, was arrested by Largo Police shortly after 12:30 a.m. on June 16. Bell was charged with attempted felony murder, two counts of kidnapping to commit a felony, aggravated child abuse, child neglect, and false imprisonment.
According to investigators, the victim had allowed Bell to stay at her apartment for the previous two nights and planned to allow him to stay again that evening. The pair was sitting in the living room listening to music when Bell allegedly began drinking Patron tequila and smoking marijuana. The victim told investigators Bell changed the music to what she described as “demonic type” music and became upset when she asked him to lower the volume because of apartment complex noise rules. Detectives say Bell then went into a bedroom and returned wearing a black ski mask, black gloves, and work boots while carrying a pair of scissors. After looking out a window and seeing a vehicle in the parking lot, Bell allegedly accused the victim of calling “the Feds” on him and ordered her to check who was outside. Investigators say the attack began moments later.
Investigators say Bell instructed the victim to check who was outside before suddenly grabbing her around the neck and placing her in a chokehold, causing her to partially lose consciousness. As she began falling to the floor, Bell allegedly picked her up and pressed a box cutter against the left side of her neck. The victim told investigators she pleaded with Bell to stop because he was cutting her, but Bell continued insisting that people were outside coming for him.
Detectives say Bell then demanded that the victim unlock her cellphone and took possession of it. When she attempted to get away, Bell allegedly followed her into a bedroom, dragged her back into the living room, and told her, “Everyone’s done for.”
The victim reportedly begged Bell to take her keys and leave, but Bell allegedly threatened that if she left, he would kill her children. During the confrontation, Bell was observed repeatedly looking through the apartment’s peephole while continuing to hold the victim against her will.
The situation escalated when Bell allegedly entered a bedroom where children were sleeping. Investigators say he grabbed a child from bed, wrapped an arm around the child’s neck, and held a kitchen knife to the child’s throat. According to investigators, the victim attempted to get the knife away from Bell while protecting the child.
According to investigators, Bell later sat on a couch with the child and directed the child to remain near him while the victim continued searching for a way to escape.
In a desperate effort to get help, the victim opened a living room window and called out to a passerby walking through the apartment courtyard below. Two children were lowered/dropped from the second-story apartment window to the bystander in an effort to get the children to safety.
Police say Bell continued fighting with the victim after the child was removed from the apartment. During the struggle, the victim was ultimately pushed from the second-story window before officers arrived on the scene.
When Largo officers arrived, they found the victim outside the apartment with bystanders assisting her.
The victim was transported to Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital in St. Petersburg, where medical personnel documented a fractured lumbar vertebra, deep puncture wounds to her thigh and hip areas, lacerations to her neck, abdomen, arm, and hand, and numerous other injuries.
The children involved in the incident were taken to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, where medical staff noted bruising and abrasions on one child’s neck and chin.
Investigators later searched the apartment and reported finding blood throughout the living room and kitchen areas. Detectives located a blood-covered Farberware kitchen knife on the kitchen island, kitchen shears on the floor, blood smears on the exterior wall below the apartment window, a blood-stained window screen on the ground outside, and a liquor bottle with blood on its neck beneath the window.
The affidavits state Bell requested an attorney after being advised of his Miranda rights and declined to answer questions.
Bell was booked into the Pinellas County Jail and remains held on charges of attempted felony murder, two counts of kidnapping to commit a felony, aggravated child abuse, child neglect, and false imprisonment.
The investigation remains ongoing.