Newly Freed Florida Man Arrested Again Moments Later
Pasco County JailMere moments after being released, this Florida man made headlines when he garnered 28 new criminal charges which included attempting to hot-wire an ATV in the jail parking lot.
Dennis Libonati of Homosassa, Florida might be the most egregious case of a prison’s failure at rehabilitation.
The 68-year-old had been released from the Land O’ Lakes Detention Center in Pasco County for mere minutes when he was arrested again.
Libonatti had not even left the jail parking lot when he was caught attempting to break into 26 cars in order “to use for transportation.” According to Newsweek, he was previously sentenced on a misdemeanor battery charge with 265 days of probation.
At 10:30 p.m., law enforcement responded to a “complaint of a suspicious person in the parking lot of the LOL [Land O’ Lakes] Detention facility.” When police arrived, they found Libonati in an area exclusively restricted to police use only.
The security footage showed him “attempting to enter 26 vehicles in the common parking area by pulling on door handles,” but “all vehicles were locked so entry was not made.” Two of those cars were sheriff’s office vehicles, including a Dodge Ram pickup truck.
“The defendant accessed the bed of the pickup truck by partially removing a cover over the top,” a police report read. “The video also showed the defendant spending several minutes on the ATV.”
Frankly, it seemed as though this particular Florida man was extremely eager to go to jail, as he was likely highly aware of the fact that a jail parking lot is quite frequently visited by police — and recorded on a 24-hour basis.
Libonati even tried to “hot wire” the ATV before officers showed up to stop him. Ultimately, he was peacefully arrested and hit with 28 charges, which included 26 counts of attempted grand theft and one count of auto burglary. He also violated his probation.
