Cops: Jail joyrider strikes again with crash into entrance

The same man who took a joy ride through the lawn of the Hernando County jail before crashing into a flagpole two weeks ago returned to the scene of the crime for more mischief Sunday, sheriff's officials said.This time, Michael Lee Roberts, 32, of Brooksville drove a sport utility vehicle into a retaining wall near the jail on Spring Hill Road on Sunday, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. The collision ruptured a two-inch natural gas line and prompting the evacuation of nearby businesses.

Roberts was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, officials said, and charged with three counts of threatening to harm a public servant and two counts of felony criminal mischief. He also was charged with discharging a firearm from a vehicle on an outstanding felony warrant related to a Brooksville Police Department case.

After TECO technicians stopped the natural gas leak on Sunday, deputies noticed a suspicious device in the vehicle and called a Citrus County bomb squad. The area was cleared by 3 p.m.

Two weeks ago, on the day before his birthday, deputies say Roberts drove a red SUV through the jail lawn and into a flag pole after a sergeant with the sheriff's office told him he could not park his vehicle on the sidewalk near the main entrance.

He was charged with criminal mischief and two counts of resisting an officer without violence.

On Sunday, Roberts was booked into the county detention center without bond. He is expected to appear in court on Monday.

This story was originally published August 10, 2015 at 7:41 AM with the headline "Cops: Jail joyrider strikes again with crash into entrance."