HOLMES BEACH – Officers have a suspect in custody for the March 22 assault of a clerk at Jessie’s Island Store.
Holmes Beach police officers arrested 44-year-old Jason Rawlings Bounds April 17 after the clerk positively identified him as her attacker. The clerk was identified in a police report as April Gonzalez. The incident was captured on the store’s surveillance system.
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Bounds is facing one count of battery as a second or subsequent offense, a third-degree felony, and one count of resisting a merchant, a first-degree misdemeanor. A third-degree felony is punishable by up to five years in prison, five years of probation, and a $5,000 fine if convicted. A first-degree misdemeanor carries a possible sentence of up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine. The arrest warrant says Bounds is being held at the Port Manatee Jail.
A report attached to the arrest warrant, completed by Holmes Beach Police Department Det. Sgt. Brian Hall, states the incident occurred at the Island store when Gonzalez confronted Bounds for concealing beer, milk, and beef and cheese sticks in his jacket. Bounds returned the items to the clerk when approached but punched her in the side of the head and abdomen when she threatened to call the police if he didn’t immediately leave the premises. The punch left Gonzalez with minor injuries to the side of her face and earlobe. After the attack, the clerk and two customers attempted to restrain Bounds but he escaped on foot. Gonzalez was able to positively identify Bounds as her attacker from a photo lineup. He was later located and arrested by law enforcement officers.
This is not Bounds’ first tangle with the law. Hall’s report says Bounds was previously convicted several times for battery and battery-related crimes including one as late as Dec. 7, 2017, in Putnam County, West Virginia. His history of battery-related offenses dates back as far as January 1993.
