Parking Lot Fray At Party Leads To Attempted Murder Charges

PINELLAS PARK, FL — A 24-year-old Holiday man has been charged with two counts of attempted homicide after being accused of intentionally striking a 10-year-old girl and a 37-year-old man with his car.

On Sunday at around 2:50 a.m., officers responded to a 911 call at Banquet Masters, 13355 49th St., where a large party was taking place.

Officers learned that three uninvited people had shown up at the party and gotten into a verbal fight with guests at the party.

The three uninvited people got into a car and the driver, Roberto Dothe, drove into a crowd of attendees, striking two. He then crashed his car into a parked truck in the parking lot, put the car in reverse and struck the girl and man a second time.

A large crowd surrounded the car and began to attack the three occupants inside. An attendee of the party, Roque Villalpando, got into a physical fight with the front passenger, causing severe injury to the man.

The rear passenger of the vehicle, Anthony Benitez, 18, of Clearwater struck Villalpando in the head with a bottle of alcohol, causing serious injury.

Benitez was taken into custody and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Dothe fled the scene on foot and was later taken into custody by police nearby and charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder.

The 10-year-old girl and 37-year-old struck by the car sustained serious injuries. In all, three people were taken to the hospital.