Published: Friday, March 12, 2010 at 11:48 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, March 12, 2010 at 11:48 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, March 12, 2010 at 11:48 p.m.
LAKELAND | Detectives Thursday rearrested a Polk City man charged in a crash that seriously injured a Winter Haven bicyclist and who was released from jail on a bond amount smaller than anticipated.
Michael S. Waters, 28, had been released from jail on $7,000 bail instead of $75,000 because of a clerical error, authorities said. Detectives added an additional charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and arrested Waters again Thursday night. This time his bail was set at $100,000.
Waters, who the Sheriff's Office calls a "habitual traffic offender," is already charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, driving with a suspended license and leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury. Detectives found two more guns they say he attempted to hide, leading to Thursday's arrest, spokeswoman Donna Wood said. The case remains under investigation.
The bicyclist, 42-year-old Norman Patrick Shepherd of Winter Haven, was in critical condition after he was hit by a van Waters was driving March 6 in the Lake Alfred area, the Sheriff's Office said.
He was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center, where he remained in the intensive care unit until this week.
His brother, Barron Shepherd, said Norman Patrick Shepherd, is now in stable condition but is being monitored closely.
"I'd say my brother is going to make it," he said. "My brother's an athlete and he's extremely tough, and I think that's what saved his life."
Family members were frustrated with authorities after Waters was accidentally released on a low bail.
Barron Shepherd said he and his family were happy to hear about Waters' arrest.
"We're extremely elated he is back in jail. It was pretty evident to us that this guy just did not need to be roaming around the streets as a free man," he said. "I've got to commend the Sheriff's Office. They righted their mistake. I'm convinced that they're going to do what they can to make sure this guy is prosecuted to the limit of the law."
He said a cast was put on his brother's broken leg Friday. Shepherd still has a collapsed lung and other broken bones, but he is recovering.
"I know sometime today he sat up on the edge of the bed and told the nurses he was ready to go home," Barron Shepherd said, laughing. "That's just the way he is."
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