[FL] DeSoto County Sheriff's Deputy Barajas charged after beating wife bloody and reportedly trying to kill officers

...[DeSoto County Sheriff's Deputy] Luis Jabierr Barajas was charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon - two of those charges more severe because they were on law enforcement officers -- and one count of battery... Barajas' wife, who was left in the parking lot, was bleeding from her nose and her face was covered in blood. She said that she couldn't remember the details and had no idea what caused Barajas to hit her or how many times she had been struck...

NEWS EXCERPTS FROM MAY 6TH AND MAY 8TH:

DESOTO COUNTY DEPUTY CHARGED WITH BATTERY, TRYING TO KILL OFFICERS
Highlands Today
By Robert Boyer
May 6, 2011
[Excerpts] DeSoto County sheriff's deputy Luis J. Barajas tried to kill Sebring police officers early Friday after striking his wife at Don Jose's restaurant and drove more than 100 mph on U.S. 27 before crashing into a woman's vehicle at College Drive in Avon Park, police say. Barajas ... is charged with battery and aggravated assault with a weapon with intent to kill. He is accused of striking his wife, who "was bleeding from the nose and her face was covered in blood" after the incident, according to an arrest report. "The business had just closed for the night and the parking lot was full of patrons. An unknown patron approached us and stated 'I generally don't get involved with people but a male subject is beating a female subject by a black car in the parking lot,'" Sebring police officer Raymond Rossy stated in an arrest report... Rossy and Low "began walking towards that area of the parking lot" when they "observed a black vehicle backing out of a parking space in that area. The vehicle was surrounded by several patron's who were shouting 'Stop that vehicle' as the vehicle backed up and then pulled forward"... Low was about 10 feet in front of Rossy and approaching Barajas' 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis. Low "put his arm out in front of him, indicating to the driver of the suspect vehicle to stop. The driver accelerated intentionally forward towards" Low, who "had less than a second to move out of the way to avoid being struck by the vehicle. I saw that the vehicle came within 5 feet of striking Officer Low," Rossy wrote... The wife "stated she did not know what triggered Luis to strike her in the face when they got to their vehicle" and "could not remember how many times she was struck," Rossy added... [Full article here]

SPD: DESOTO DEPUTY TRIED TO RUN OVER TWO OFFICERS
News-Sun
May 08, 2011
[Excerpts] A man identified as a DeSoto County Sheriff's Deputy reportedly beat up his wife, tried to run down a pair of Sebring Police Officers and another man with his car, then led law enforcement on a high-speed chase topping 100 mph in the early hours of Friday morning. According to an arrest report, 34-year-old Luis Jabierr Barajas was charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon - two of those charges more severe because they were on law enforcement officers - and one count of battery... [SPD Commander Steve] Carr also said that Barajas was involved in a wreck near College Drive. The car was abandoned at Barajas' residence in Avon Park and he reportedly fled the area before being arrested around 4 p.m. on Friday by a HCSO [Highland's County sheriff's Office] deputy. [Sebring police officer Raymond] Rossy reported that Barajas' wife, who was left in the parking lot, was bleeding from her nose and her face was covered in blood. She said that she couldn't remember the details and had no idea what caused Barajas to hit her or how many times she had been struck. Barajas was being held without bail at the Highlands County Jail on Saturday. [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal brutal Florida state politics]