Man Accused Of Beating Grandmother Arrested

RIVERVIEW, FL — A 54-year-old man accused of beating his 93-year-old grandmother and stealing her car has been brought into custody.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, deputies received a tip that James William Mitchell Jr. might be in the Riverview area. They caught up with Mitchell Thursday morning and found the vehicle he is accused of stealing from his grandmother at the 6929 U.S. 301 Winn-Dixie.

According to the agency, Mitchell attacked his grandmother at their home in the 7000 block of 52nd Avenue South sometime between 7 p.m. Tuesday and 6:56 a.m. Wednesday.

Mitchell beat his grandmother so badly, she suffered severe injuries, an email from the sheriff’s office said.

“Mitchell then left the victim on the ground in a semi-conscious state for an unknown amount of time and fled the area in the victim's 2001 beige, Infiniti QX4 sport utility vehicle, bearing Florida tag X89 9TT,” the email said.

A warrant was issued for Mitchell’s arrest on an aggravated battery on a person age 65 or older charge and for grand theft auto, the sheriff’s office said.

His grandmother was recovering at a local hospital Wednesday. Deputies have not provided an update on her condition.

As for Mitchell, he was being booked into the Orient Road Jail Thursday morning.

No further information is available at this time.

Photo of Mitchell courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office