Suspect arrested again after crashing into Hernando Detention Center
For the second time in two weeks, deputies say, a man has targeted the Hernando County Detention Center with a car.
Michael Roberts, 31, was booked into jail Sunday evening and charged with three counts of threatening to harm a public servant and two counts of criminal mischief after a crash Sunday morning.
He was wanted on an unrelated illegal discharge of a firearm warrant from the Brooksville Police Department.
Around 11 a.m., deputies responded to the corner of Spring Hill Drive and Air Commerce Blvd after an SUV had slammed into a rock barrier and ruptured a two-inch natural gas line.
Hernando County Fire Rescue quickly covered the vehicle with foam to prevent it from catching fire, and the sheriff's office shut down Spring Hill Drive.
Once TECO shut off the natural gas line, deputies were able to look inside the SUV where they noticed a suspicious package.
Deputies called the Citrus County Bomb Squad for assistance, and once they arrived, they quickly found nothing dangerous inside.
Deputies questioned Roberts after he was taken to the hospital, and they learned he was arrested two weeks ago for driving through the jail lawn.
On July 27, Deputies arrested Roberts and charged him with criminal mischief and two counts of resisting an officer with violence.
That night, deputies say, he drove right up to the door of the jail, parked on a sidewalk, and walked in.
Once inside, a correctional officer asked him to park the car in a parking space to which he said, "No."
As a patrol deputy arrived, he convinced Roberts to move his car.
As he backed up, deputies say Roberts slammed into a bench, and instead of continuing in reverse, he gunned it forward taking out some bushes and part of an officer's memorial.
Jail surveillance cameras captured video of the car circling the lawn. After two passes and nearly hitting the patrol deputy's car, Roberts smashed into a flag pole where the car finally stopped.
Deputies swarmed the car and arrested Roberts charging him with criminal mischief and two counts of resisting an officer with violence.
He served two days in jail and was released on a $3,000 bond.
Nine years ago, the night after Christmas, arrest records show Roberts parked in the same spot, ran inside the same way, and demanded his uncle be released from jail.
Deputies arrested him then, and he admitted to an unrelated hit-and-run crash and smoking an ounce of marijuana that day.
In all, the sheriff's office estimates there is about $1,000 in damage to a bench, the flag pole, some landscaping and the officer's memorial.
Bond has not been set for the most recent incident. Roberts is expected to make his first appearance in front of a judge for this crash Monday morning.