Wild domestic argument turned road rage case leaves woman in jail with no bond

TAMPA - Witnesses and bystanders might have thought it was a road rage case acting out on the side of an I-75 exit ramp Sunday afternoon, but it was a domestic argument. The incident left a man in the hospital and his girlfriend arrested and charged with attempted murder.

The backstory:

Law enforcement investigators described the relationship between Armani Bellamy and Christopher Ewing as about a year old with a prior incident of domestic violence. In that case, Ewing was arrested and charged. Upon his release on bond, no restrictions were put on him, and he returned home where he lives with Bellamy.

Sunday, Ewing told Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Alexander Rodriguez, they got into an argument again. This time, he removed himself from the situation, getting into his gray Dodge Challenger and leaving their address. At the time, Bellamy was throwing rocks and bricks at his vehicle as he took off. 

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According to the FHP trooper, Bellamy took the keys to Ewing’s work truck, a Ford F-250 and pursued Ewing. 

In the pursuit, Bellamy struck another vehicle, a third party, at US 301 and Riverview Drive and took off, still in pursuit of Ewing.

Ewing called 911 to report that he was being pursued and was in fear of his life.

In the five minutes that he was on the line with 911, he related the incident and his location. 

His vehicle ran out of gas at the exit ramp from I-75 to Morris Bridge Road. 

At this point, Bellamy in the F-250 aggressively ran at Ewing’s vehicle. He got out of the  vehicle and according to the FHP report, Bellamy rammed the car with the stolen truck. Witnesses described to the FHP that she circled around and rammed the Challenger a second time, disabling it.

Ewing then took off into the tree line along the side of the interstate exit, but Bellamy pursued in the pickup. Trooper Rodriguez said that the victim told him that she ran over him with the right front side of the pickup truck, leaving it there on top of him.

Bellamy was restrained at the scene and held for law enforcement by witnesses and by-standers.

She was arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, grand theft motor vehicle and criminal mischief.

Dig deeper:

On Tuesday, in the Hillsborough County Courthouse, Armani Bellamy appeared before Judge J. Logan Murphy. Her defense attorney described her as a 20-year-old former foster child with no financial means and with only a minor past criminal history as a minor.  

The prosecution outlined the criminal case against Bellamy with emphasis on the fact that she made multiple decisions to pursue criminal actions putting the public at risk and the victim at risk. Her intention to harm the victim played out in front of witnesses, leaving little doubt that she posed a threat to both the community and the victim.

Judge Murphy listened to the defense and prosecution before making a ruling. He sided with the prosecution that Bellamy posed a threat to the community, as evidenced by the hit-and-run and leaving an innocent victim at the scene. He also agreed that she had multiple opportunities to stop her actions and the violence towards the victim but chose not to up until the point of striking him with a vehicle.

Judge Murphy ordered Bellamy held with no bond on the charge of attempted murder in the first-degree.

What's next:

Armani Bellamy will be held in the Hillsborough County Jail until her trial.