Posted on 11/10/2009 3:01:14 PM PST by kronos77
TAMPA - A U.S. Marine reservist attacked a visiting Greek Orthodox priest he believed to be a terrorist, Tampa police say.
When the priest tried seeking directions from Jasen D. Bruce, 28, of Tampa, on Monday, Bruce struck the priest with a tire iron and chased him.
Police say he attacked the Rev. Alexios Marakis, 29, of Crete, Greece, who was visiting St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Tarpon Springs and wound up lost in Tampa.
Marakis had performed a blessing of another retired Greek priest in the West Shore area and then accidentally exited Interstate 275 north into downtown Tampa. He followed cars into the Seaport Channelside Apartments on Twiggs Street and got out to ask Bruce for help.
Bruce hit him over the head with a tire iron and chased him for three blocks, to the corner of Madison and Meridian avenues, police say.
"During the chase, the suspect called 911 and claimed an Arabic male attempted to rob him and he was going to take him into custody," a Tampa Police Department news release states. "When officers arrived, the suspect claimed the man was a terrorist."
Marakis, who speaks limited English, was treated at Tampa General Hospital and released.
Marakis declined to comment today, saying he did not speak much English. The Rev. Michael Eaccarino of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral said Marakis is doing well.
(Excerpt) Read more at 2.tbo.com ...
I bet the priest did this after he got hit in the head with the tire iron, in an act of self-defense.
As a former Marine, I would have ripped them off the reservist and stuffed them in his mouth for his mama to see. Lucky I'm not a priest.
I’ve been to the Clearwater/Tampa area for vacation over a dozen times, and I still get confused driving around Tampa. I still can’t figure out why this priest was driving around alone. Even with GPS, it still can be confusing. Why was this priest sent so far away from Tarpon Springs, alone, to give some other priest a “blessing”? Something doesn’t add up.
Let's think about this. Was this Marine ever deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan? Was he suffering from PTSD? Did the strain of possible deployment suddenly make him crack?
Seriously, if these arguments can be used to excuse an actual terrorist who killed and wounded American troops, they can be used to excuse this guy.
I have another thought also. What religion is this Marine? Did he purposely do this in order to give plausibility to the scream of "backlash against muslims"?
I suggest this Marine's IQ be tested and his alcohol level should have been tested also.
One other thing, fear and hatred of Muslims can make people do stuff like this, muslims had better fear backlash, it is coming sooner or later.(however, a Greek Orthodox looks nothing like a frickin' muslim!)
“I bet the priest did this after he got hit in the head with the tire iron, in an act of self-defense.”
You know, I thought the same thing...
But then I thought that perhaps once he retained an attorney, they thought, hmmm....he’s a priest? Hey, I have a good idea...aren’t some of them known for being homosexual? Yeah...that sounds better than the story I made up that he was trying to rob me.
“Imo there is simply no way this priest was driving around Tarpon Springs and became ‘lost’ to wind up in downtown Tampa.”
If you read other reports on this story, he had been to Tarpon Springs and was about to visit another priest in Tampa.
"During the chase, the suspect called 911 and claimed an Arabic male attempted to rob him and he was going to take him into custody."
Then,after the attorney gets involved, it's all about grabbing genitals.
Why did the reservist not state this when he made the 911 call?
Was it a robbery or a grope?
I stand by my skepticism.
“Was this Marine ever deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan? Was he suffering from PTSD? Did the strain of possible deployment suddenly make him crack?”
NO! He has never been to Iraq or Afghanistan.
He’s just a punk who gives real Marines a bad name.
Check out this video..he poses for a gay/porn online site...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCI6H46Dypw
I never said he was deployed, I simply asked a question. To me he sounds as if he is nuts. Anyone who can’t tell a Greek Orthodox from a muslim is deranged, IMO.
“I never said he was deployed, I simply asked a question.”
And I was simply answering your question. By the way...this is interesting..comments follow...
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article1050707.ece
I think I’m willing to wait and hear what the marine has to say for himself, and maybe we could look into his background before making a snap judgement?
Background...
Jasen Bruce, 28, enlisted as a reserve Marine as a teenager, was discharged honorably when he finished his contract, and enlisted again this March. He has never been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, a Marine Corps spokesman said. He got married last month in full dress uniform.
Bruce is a sales manager for APS Pharmacy in Palm Harbor. His blog entries tout the benefits of increasing testosterone and human growth hormones. He was charged with misdemeanor battery in 2007 for hopping over the bed of a tow truck and shoving its driver.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article1050707.ece
http://madabouttheboys.blogspot.com/2008/10/jasen-bruce.html
Looks like he needs to lay off the hormones.
Not only that, but this idiot is going to give fuel to the drive-bys. I guarantee the MM will be putting an anti-military slant to this story to try and paint our soldiers as a bunch of violent bigots. Keith Overbite will certainly be all over this.
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