A 50-year-old man was arrested Wednesday morning after witnesses intervened in an attempted sexual battery of a tourist in St. Pete Beach, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to the Starbucks at 4811 Gulf Boulevard at approximately 10:25 a.m. on October 21, 2026, after receiving multiple 911 calls reporting a man and woman fighting in a parking lot.
According to detectives, the 29-year-old woman was approached near a beach access by a man she did not know, later identified as Michael Jackson, who is listed as a transient. Investigators say Jackson followed her in his vehicle as she crossed the street into a nearby parking lot.
Jackson then exited his vehicle, a black Toyota pickup truck, pushed the woman to the ground and pulled down her pants in an attempt to sexually batter her, detectives said.
Multiple witnesses intervened, pulled Jackson off the woman and called 911. Jackson fled in his vehicle before deputies arrived, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies located his vehicle shortly after and took him into custody following a pursuit that ended along I-275. He was transported to the Pinellas County Jail on charges of attempted sexual battery, false imprisonment, and fleeing and eluding.
Detectives assigned to the Homicide & Robbery Unit conducted the investigation.
No booking photo was available at the time of the release.
