A man who identified himself as “Ben Dover” when police found him in a Florida park after hours has been sentenced to pay a $500 fine in connection with his no contest plea to an obstruction charge, records show.
In November, a sheriff’s deputy got into a confrontation with a man whom he sought to remove from a park in a St. Petersburg suburb. Asked to identify himself, the suspect “responded by stating his name was ‘Ben Dover,’” the officer reported.
After giving the cop the finger, “Dover” got in the deputy’s face “as if he was going to hit him.” The suspect subsequently ran away, but was collared after a short chase.
“Dover” was, in fact, Andrew Leighton, 22. He was arrested for obstruction and resisting an officer.
In a plea deal this month, a County Court judge ordered Leighton to pay $500 in combined court and prosecution costs after he entered a no contest plea to a single misdemeanor charge.