Aggravated Assault With a Tractor?

A dispute between two men in Hudson turned violent earlier this month when Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies say one man hit another with a tractor and then attempted to do it again.

The incident unfolded around 8:15 a.m. Sept. 4 near the U.S. 19, Aripeka Road intersection when Brian Blanford was struck with the box blade on the rear of the tractor. When Blanford told the driver he was injured, the man said “I’ll (expletive) hit you again,” an arrest report stated. The man then proceeded to drive the tractor backwards toward the victim. He then turned the steering wheel sharply and attempted to hit him with the tractor’s front bucket.

That time, Blanford was able to avoid the blow, the report said.

Deputies arrested Michael Vincent Zarro, 58, of Inverness Sept. 11. He faces one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Zarro was released from the Land O’ Lakes Jail on $5,000 bond, jail records indicate.

Photo Credit: Michael Vincent Zarro/Pasco County Sheriff’s Office