The Tarpon Springs Police Department (TSPD) was notified of an incident involving a student at approximately 8 a.m. on Wednesday, October 5, 2022.
According to TSPD, a female juvenile student from Tarpon Springs High School requested to speak with a School Resource Officer. A Tarpon Springs Police Officer made contact with the student at which time she advised, that while she was walking to her bus stop near Grosse. Ave. and Harrison St., an African American middle aged male subject, got out of an older model silver colored Nissan pick-up truck and tried to grab her right shoulder.
The female subject was able to fight the subject off and ran to her bus stop.
Tarpon Springs Police detectives have made 2 arrest in this case:
1. Jamichael Antoine Williams, a 38 year-old male of Tarpon Springs was charged with one felony count of False Imprisonment. He was booked into the Pinellas County Jail and released on $5,000 bond about 7 hours later. This is his 5th arrest in Pinellas County.
2. Paul Sylvestor Warren, a 65 year-old male of Tarpon Springs was charged with one felony count of False Imprisonment. He was booked into Pinellas County Jail at approximately 12:36 a.m. on Thursday, October 6, 2022 and remains in jail as of October 8, 2022. His booking photo is not yet available. He has more than a dozen past arrests in Pinellas County.
The vehicle used in this incident has been impounded by the Police Department.
According to preliminary arrest documentation, Williams was driving a 2006 silver Nissan pickup truck and pulled alongside the victim at approximately 6:48 a.m. The front seat passenger of the vehicle, Warren, opened the door and exited walking to the victim. Warrens approached the victim saying “come with me.” The victim refused and Warren reportedly used his left arm to grab the victim’s right upper arm and pull her toward the truck.
The victim punched Warren in the stomach and pulled away from him. She ran and hid before the bus arrived and watched the suspect vehicle drive around several times looking for her.
Williams admitted he was driving the truck with the suspected attacker but did not admit to stopping the truck where the offense occurred. Williams reportedly lied to investigators saying he drove the truck around later in the day when investigators already knew the truck was disabled in the hours immediately after the incident. Video footage shows the vehicle on Harrison Street in the area of the incident at the time it occurred.
Warren admitted he was the passenger in the truck when the incident occurred. He stated that he opened his door and only got out to “grab his cigarettes which fell out of the truck.” He denied attempting to get the victim into the truck.
Anyone with further information about this incident are asked to contact the Tarpon Springs Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division Detective John Melton at 727-938-2849.