Legal Justice
Ex-federal prosecutor charged in alleged road-rage stabbing not works at this BigLaw agency
Lawyer Patrick Douglas Scruggs, 38, is accused of attacking a driver after he struck Scruggs’ sedan on Interstate 275 in Tampa, Florida. Photograph from Shutterstock.
A former federal prosecutor accused of stabbing a driver in a road-rage incident Tuesday is not working at Barnes & Thornburg, the regulation agency that he joined within the spring.
Lawyer Patrick Douglas Scruggs, 38, is accused of attacking the motive force after he struck Scruggs’ sedan on Interstate 275 in Tampa, Florida, report the Tampa Bay Times, WTSP, Fox 13 and Heavy.com.
Scruggs allegedly broke the motive force’s window and commenced stabbing the person with a pocketknife. He was charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault and armed housebreaking.
Scruggs had labored for the U.S. lawyer’s workplace in Tampa, Florida, for greater than 10 years and had helped prosecute suspects within the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot. His LinkedIn page says he left the U.S. lawyer’s workplace in April and joined Barnes & Thornburg in Might.
Scruggs was working as of counsel at Barnes & Thornburg’s Atlanta workplace, in accordance with a June 6 press release asserting the hiring of a number of attorneys and authorized professionals.
The press launch mentioned Scruggs “advises his purchasers on the intricacies of the investigation and prosecution course of. He has carried out quite a few long-term investigations and first-chaired varied trials on the federal degree.”
A spokesperson for Barnes & Thornburg advised Fox 13 that Scruggs not works there. His agency bio web page is not dwell.
Scruggs graduated from the Boston School Regulation Faculty in 2009 and Georgetown College in 2005, the place he earned a bachelor’s diploma in international service. Earlier than changing into a federal prosecutor, Scruggs labored on the New York County district lawyer’s workplace, in accordance with a 2013 press release asserting new hires on the U.S. lawyer’s workplace.
The road-rage incident occurred after Samaritan couple noticed the motive force slumped over in his automotive stopped on a bridge and pulled in entrance of the automotive to assist, in accordance with a Florida Freeway Patrol information launch cited by the articles. After seeing that the doorways had been locked, the husband walked again to his automotive to get one thing to interrupt the window.
The motive force awoke and accelerated, crashing into the couple’s automotive, in accordance with the information launch. The motive force then tried to get across the couple’s automotive and struck Scruggs’ automotive as he drove by.
After Scruggs stopped and allegedly stabbed the motive force, he additionally used his knife to scare off the great Samaritan couple, police advised Fox 13.
A police officer driving by stopped and detained Scruggs. Footage taken by a witness who noticed the aftermath exhibits Scruggs standing on the scene along with his arms within the air and the motive force’s bloody arm and arms.
Scruggs was launched on $65,000 bond. His lawyer launched an announcement to the Tampa Bay Occasions.
The assertion by lawyer John Nohlgren mentioned Scruggs “has no prior legal historical past and has spent practically his total profession defending the folks of this nation.”
The incident was “a chaotic scenario involving a number of crashes brought on by just one individual on certainly one of our space’s busiest bridges,” in accordance with the assertion.
“That individual was not Mr. Scruggs,” the assertion mentioned. “There may be far more to this incident than what’s being reported, and we’re diligently working to convey to mild the complete information of what occurred. We urge that the general public maintain an open thoughts and withhold from making judgments. We are going to convey forth all the information and make them identified to the authorities within the correct discussion board.”
