LAKELAND -- The head baseball coach at Southeastern University is facing several charges after deputies say he battered a 72-year-old man and dumped debris illegally at a private dumpster.
According to the Polk Sheriff, Adrian Dinkel, 38, of Lakeland, went to a site used for a Verizon cell tower Tuesday evening. The site is owned by a 72-year-old man, who confronted Dinkel. The affidavit says Dinkel got physical when the victim tried to take a picture of his license tag.
Quoting from the affidavit, the victim says he returned to the site around 7:30 p.m. to pick up something he'd forgotten, and saw a black Ford pickup backed up to the dumpster, along with Dinkel and his eight-year-old son. He said he confronted Dinkel and asked whether he knew he was trespassing and dumping illegally, to which Dinkel replied "yes" as he continued to throw trash inside. According to the deputy's report, the victim asked Dinkel's son which trash was theirs, at which point the coach pointed a finger in his face, warning him not to talk to the boy. Dinkel then smacked a phone out of the victim's hands as he tried to record the incident on video, throwing it in nearby woods, then taking off with his child.
While the victim didn't make cellphone video, his wife did (and here's the link).
Dinkel is accused of Battery on a person over 65, trespassing at a construction site, petit theft and littering.
A spokesperson says Southeastern has been informed of the incident but has "not as yet been able to ascertain enough information... to comment at this time."
Southeastern is a Christian private university in Lakeland, affiliated with the Assemblies of God denomination.
Photo and Video: Polk Sheriff's Office