Pizza, Pork, Burrito: String Of Food Attacks Confound Deputies

ZEPHYRHILLS, FL -- It's a crime trend that Pasco County Sheriff's deputies are hard-pressed to explain. Food seems to have become the weapon of choice during domestic disputes. And, while it's not as lethal as a gun or knife, using food as a weapon is still a criminal offense.

For the eighth time in as many weeks, the sheriff's office has arrested a resident for assaulting a domestic partner or family member with food. This time a cookie was used.

According to the sheriff's office, on Sunday morning a Zephyrhills woman called deputies after she said her live-in boyfriend assaulted her with a cookie.

Pasco deputies said the cookie left a red mark on the victim's forehead.

Wade Alan Smith, 41, was charged with domestic battery after admitting to throwing the cookie at his girlfriend.

Deputies say convenience could be the reason behind the string of food assaults in Pasco County since the beginning of the year. Many verbal arguments start in the kitchen where food items are handy. In the heat of the moment, an abuser may grab the first item in sight.

The first food attack occurred Jan. 4 when a Holiday man was arrested after being accused of shoving a hot, freshly delivered pizza into his father's face. Robert Houston told sheriff's deputies that he was angry because he just found out that his father helped deliver him 33 years ago. He had just had a pizza delivered to his house. As he walked in the front door with the pizza, he saw his father sitting in the living room and said he reacted out of anger.

While food wasn't a factor in the arrest of Andrea Monika Der-Gepford, 50, of Lutz, wine was. Her husband called deputies Jan. 20 after he said his wife attacked him with a curtain rod on and then chased him with a bottle of wine. She was charged with domestic aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

The attacks continued on Jan. 29 when deputies arrested Patricia Jo Anne Steinbaugh, 59, of Spring Hill after her husband accused her of throwing a pan of food at him.

The husband told deputies he was eating dinner when his wife, who he is in the process of divorcing after 11 years of marriage, began screaming at him. As the husband walked into the kitchen to get seconds, he said Steinbaugh threw a cooking pan filled with food at him and then used the pan to strike him in the face five or six times.

Deputies said the victim had red abrasions on the corner of his left eye and the side of his face was swollen and bruised.

A few days later, on Feb. 2, Jennifer Julie Brassard, 48, of Brooksville was arrested after her live-in boyfriend accused her of throwing a frozen pork chop at him during an argument. Deputies said the rock-hard pork chop hit him on his life eyebrow, causing a half-inch cut.

It was cat food rather than human food that landed a 46-year-old Holiday woman in jail on Feb. 4.

Deputies said Shawna Marie Smith was arrested on a felony battery charge after being accused of getting into a dispute over cat food with another woman at their home on Kepner Drive. Smith is accused of throwing the victim to the ground and scratching her.

Four days later, on Feb. 8, deputies received a call from a Port Richey woman who said she had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend who responded by shoving her into a chair and throwing a burrito in her face. Deputies arrived to find the remnants of a burrito splattered on the victim's face, neck and shoulders.

Deputies said the boyfriend, Peter Michael Elacqua, 41, fled the scene before deputies arrived and refused to turn himself in when they called him on his cell phone. Deputies finally caught up with him on Feb. 11 and arrested him on a domestic battery charge.

The spate of food assaults continued on Feb. 18 when a 37-year-old Port Richey man was arrested after deputies said he threw a slice of pizza at his mom during an argument.

Deputies said Michael Stempel, 37, got into an argument with his mother. She ordered him to leave her house. Stempel responded by telling his mother she would have to call "the cops" to remove him. When his mother reached for her cell phone to dial 911, deputies said Stempel grabbed the phone out of her hand and then threw a slice of pizza at his her, hitting her in the stomach.

When deputies located him at a nearby park, Stempel ran from them but finally surrendered. Stempel denied throwing a slice of pizza at his mother, calling her a liar. Nevertheless, he was charged with domestic battery, tampering with a victim and resisting arrest without violence.

When questioned about the rising incidence of food attacks, Pasco Sheriff's community outreach specialist Benecia Holder said the sheriff's office does not keep statistics on assaults with food.

However, the sheriff's office takes any form of domestic violence seriously. All too often, acts of violence in the heat of the moment have led to homicides.

That's the reason behind Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco forming the Intimate Violence Enhanced Services Team (InVEST). The team consists of a detective and domestic violence shelter advocate who work together to identify victims of domestic violence who are at risk of being killed.

Together the team offers services to help the victim escape the abusive relationship and monitors the offenders to ensure they don't carry out their threats.

For more information about InVEST and resources to find help, click here.

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