Cedar Key, Florida

From the Chieftan Citizen of January 16, 2007

Man who got shot in face is arrested for stalking

A Cedar Key man who was shot in the face Nov. 29 and hospitalized has been arrested by the Levy County Sheriff's Office on a charge of aggravated stalking.

Roger Frederick Bartell, 51, of 13450 S.W. 72nd Pl., has also been charged with battery and violation of a protective injunction against repeated violence, arrest reports show.

The Sheriff's Office reported at the end of November that a man had been shot in Cedar Key in a domestic incident, but they would not make details public as the subject was hospitalized and the investigation was ongoing with the help of the State Attorney's Office.

Now, officers allege that Bartell's injuries were the result of his stalking a woman and burglarizing her home with plans for an attack.

“On the morning of the incident, he secreted into the house and waited for her,” Sgt. Scott Tummond said. “She happened to be armed with a .38 pistol, and when he tried to grab her she brought the gun to action, firing once and striking him in the chin.”

Tummond said Bartell fell to the floor, while the woman called 911 and fled for her safety.

Deputies and police from Cedar Key responded, and Bartell was transported to a hospital for treatment, which reportedly included an operation for a severe throat injury.

Tummond said their investigation led them to determine that no charges should be filed against the victim, whose identity is being withheld in accordance with state law.

“It was pretty obvious he was where he wasn't supposed to be,” he said.

Tummond added that they had waited for more than a month to make the arrest because Bartell was hospitalized and on a feeding tube.

“There wasn't any sense in effecting an arrest,” he said. “We're a jail, not a hospital.”

Tummond said Bartell had posted a $60,000 bond and had been released from the jail, but he is on a home medical care program.

He added that the victim has since moved to a safe location.