ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A Florida man was arrested on multiple charges after he allegedly attacked a tow truck driver that was towing his girlfriend’s car in Orlando. 

What we know:

An Orlando man, Jose Reinardo Rosado, 45, faces multiple felony charges after allegedly threatening a tow truck driver with a knife and striking him during a confrontation at Ashton at Waterford Lakes Apartments. 

Deputies responded around 10:30 p.m. Sunday after a call about a dispute over a car being towed. The tow truck driver said he was hooking up a vehicle without a parking decal when Rosado, 45, intervened, cut the towing strap with a knife, threatened him and struck him in the forehead with the tow truck’s remote. 

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX LOCAL APP

According to an arrest report, Rosado took the truck’s keys and fled but was quickly apprehended nearby. A knife and set of keys were recovered, and the tow truck driver identified Rosado as the man who attacked him.

What we don’t know:

Additional details about Rosado’s background or criminal history have not been released.

What’s next:

Rosado was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, robbery with a deadly weapon, battery, criminal mischief, and petit theft. He was booked into the Orange County Jail.

SIGN-UP FOR FOX 35’S BREAKING NEWS, DAILY NEWS NEWSLETTERS

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing a funding dilemma over the immigration detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” built in the Florida Everglades.

Last week, an appellate court panel temporarily blocked a lower court decision ordering the governor’s administration to wind down operations at the facility.

But the ruling sets up a predicament: The state can either pass up federal reimbursement for hundreds of millions of dollars spent to build and operate the facility, or take the money and face an environmental review, which would risk halting the center’s operations.

That’s because a majority of the three-judge appellate panel decided for the time being that the facility doesn’t have to undergo a federally required environmental impact study normally needed to build on sensitive wetlands. Why? Because Florida has yet to receive federal money for the project, despite officials having promised it.

If Florida takes the federal money, then the state may need to conduct the environmental analysis, the judges wrote in their 2-to-1 decision. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on social media this summer that the facility would largely be funded by FEMA’s shelter and services program.

The law makes clear that “the absence of federal funding renders an action ‘non-federal’” and not subject to an environmental review, the appellate panel majority said.

The decision stayed a preliminary injunction by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ordering the detention facility to wind down operations by late October while the case made its way through court. The stay is in effect pending appeal.

“Here, no federal dollars have been expended on the construction or use of the facility,” the appellate panel said. “So the Florida-funded and Florida-operated detention activities occurring at the site do not conceive a ‘major federal project’ either.”

When asked Tuesday about whether the appellate panel’s decision would impact the state’s application for federal funding, the governor’s office didn’t provide a direct answer. Instead, press secretary Molly Best sent video clips of DeSantis talking about “Alligator Alcatraz” on social media and in an interview with FOX host Sean Hannity. DeSantis didn’t discuss funding in either clip.

DeSantis’ administration in late June raced to build the facility on an isolated airstrip surrounded by wetlands to aid President Donald Trump’s efforts to deport people living in the U.S. illegally. Trump toured the facility in July and suggested it could be a model for future lockups around the nation as his administration pushes to expand the infrastructure needed to increase deportations. Other states have since announced plans to open their own immigration detention centers.

The environmental lawsuit is one of three federal lawsuits challenging operations at the detention center in the Everglades. A second Florida immigration detention center opened last week at a closed prison in north Florida.

“Florida taxpayers should not foot the bill for federal immigration services,” said Paul Schwiep, an attorney representing Friends of the Everglades, one of the environmental groups that sued Florida and the U.S. government. “Judge Williams believed the governor when he said the federal government would fund the work, and believed Secretary Noem when she said the same. Meanwhile, the majority on appeal essentially said we can’t believe politicians when they make such statements.”

Elise Bennett, a senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, another environmental group that is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said she saw another possibility in the ruling that would allow the DeSantis administration and DHS “to have their cake and eat it too.”

The appellate majority is signaling that a federal agency can withhold reimbursement until a project is completed, “and by the time they formalize that payment, the damage is done and the analysis has little to no value,” Bennett said.

___

Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social

Florida defensive lineman Brendan Bett issued a public apology Monday night, two days after spitting on a USF player in the Bulls’ 18-16 upset win in Gainesville.

In a social media post, Bett said he let down his “teammates, coaches, family and all of our Gator Nation.”

“Our coaches always instill in us the value of sportsmanship and I crossed the line,” he wrote.

Bett also specifically apologized to South Florida and to the player he spat on, offensive lineman Cole Skinner.

“There is no excuse for my actions,” he wrote to Skinner. “I’m truly sorry to both you and your family. I know that my actions didn’t reflect the way I was raised and I regret the disappointment I caused.

“I take full responsibility. I pray that we can all move forward. Thanks for believing in me and I won’t let you down again.”

Bett’s actions drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Bulls’ final drive. The 15 free yards helped USF advance for the game-winning 20-yard field goal as time expired. The “Bull spit” moment was the type of self-inflicted mistake coach Billy Napier was hired to fix; instead, it became an unmistakable error that dropped Napier’s Florida record to 20-20 two games into his fourth season.

In his weekly Monday news conference, Napier said Bett would have the opportunity to apologize to the team and reach out to Skinner. Napier also said the move was uncharacteristic for Bett, a transfer from Baylor.

“I think that the kid is remorseful,” Napier said. “I think he feels as if he let the team down. … He made a mistake, and he compromised the team. He made a selfish decision. He misrepresented our fans, our alumni, the university. When a young man comes into your office, and that’s his immediate concern, is how he didn’t represent this place the right way, I think that’s a good indication of his attitude towards it.”

Napier said Bett would face internal discipline, but that the Gators have not yet decided whether he will be suspended. Florida (1-1) opens SEC play Saturday at No. 3 LSU.

(Photo: Stephen Lew / USA Today Sports)