Florida politics blogger ‘The Shark’ let off the hook from attempted murder charge

Palm Beach County prosecutors let “The Shark” off the hook on Monday, dropping all charges against a popular conservative Florida blogger after a witness refused to cooperate.

A single-page court file signed by Assistant Palm Beach County State Attorney Christy Rogers said charges of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm and burglary with assault or battery against Javier Manjarres, would not be filed.

“Victim refused to cooperate by refusing to identify to view a lineup,” the filing read.

The dropped charges against Manjarres on Monday is the second time in the past week that Palm Beach County State Attorney David Aronberg’s office has decided against prosecuting a case that turned into a hot political issue.

Last week, state prosecutors said no charges would be pressed against Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who grabbed the arm of Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields during a Trump rally to try and get her away from the presidential candidate.

Manjarres, 43, known as The Shark and whose website is called The Shark Tank, was arrested in Pompano Beach in March and accused of threatening Jason Holowinski, the boyfriend of Manjarres’s sister.

As first reported in Politico, Holowinski told Boca Raton police that he and his girlfriend had been drinking and arguing and that Manjarres ambushed him in a parking lot, then fired a bullet into his vehicle.

Manjarres, one of the state’s leading conservative blogging voices, is known for his coverage of state politics, particularly following the career of Sen. Marco Rubio. He’s known for showing up at political events with a video camera and sometimes landing exclusive interviews.

This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Florida politics blogger ‘The Shark’ let off the hook from attempted murder charge."