Drunken 17-year-old with vodka bottle in his backpack gets violent — then actually spits in deputy’s face, authorities say

A drunken 17-year-old who had a vodka bottle in his backpack got violent at a Florida tennis court last week — then actually spit in a deputy’s face amid his arrest, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.

What are the details?

Deputies arrived at the tennis courts on North Winston Lane in Santa Rosa Beach on the evening of March 25 to find tennis patrons physically holding down a 17-year-old after he tried to fight those around him, officials said. Santa Rosa Beach is on the Florida Panhandle about an hour west of Panama City Beach.

The Mountain Brook, Alabama, teenager had arrived at the tennis courts and began verbally harassing players, after which things escalated into violence, officials said.

At one point a patron asked the teen to leave, and the teen responded by shoving the patron to the ground on the court, officials said.

To defend himself, the individual the teen had shoved pinned down the teen until deputies arrived on the scene, officials said.

Deputies observed that the teen was exhibiting signs and behaviors of intoxication, officials said, adding that he was found with a 1.75 liter of vodka in his backpack.

While deputies tried putting the teenager into custody, the suspect shouted profanities at his mother and multiple deputies — and then spit in a deputy’s face, officials said.

The teen now faces charges of battery on an officer, battery, obstruction without violence, and possession of alcohol by a person under 21 years of age, officials said.

He was taken to the Walton County Jail and then transferred to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Crestview, officials said.

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