Naples police say October incident at Naples restaurant led to Rick LoCastro arrest warrant
Authorities released additional details late Wednesday afternoon about the probe into a Collier County elected official, which began with an altercation at a Naples business.
Collier County Commissioner Rick LoCastro, of Marco Island, faces arrest warrants accusing him of domestic abuse in October.
LoCastro's attorney, Donald Day, had said Wednesday that he had not yet seen the incident reports from October where LoCastro is accused of domestic violence and said they were leaked to some media.
"I can go on the record (that) I have a substantial amount of evidence in my possession that will show this man is innocent," Day added.
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The incident, according to a police report
Around 10:45 p.m. Oct. 28, Naples Police responded to a 911 call from a female involved in an altercation with LoCastro.
Officers found a visibly upset female, with a laceration below her nose, bruising on both of her forearms, red markings on the back of her left shoulder, and leaves in her hair.
LoCastro appeared to have no injuries but his left pant leg was torn, police said.
Both parties denied having a physical altercation and left separately, authorities said. Officers documented the incident, and transferred the case to the Criminal Investigations Division.
Less than a week later, on Nov. 3, Naples police's Criminal Investigations Division received information from detectives at the Marco Island Police Department.
The same woman informed Marco Island authorities she was too afraid to press charges the night of Oct. 28, but she reconsidered and was willing to move forward.
During the follow-up investigation, police said, the woman explained she and LoCastro dined at The London Club, 221 Ninth St. S., when an argument ensued.
The woman told detectives they left the restaurant in a vehicle together and while driving, LoCastro became angry.
The woman said LoCastro stopped the vehicle, walked around to the passenger side, where he forcefully pulled her out of the vehicle by the arm and pushed her into a hedgerow.
She told police she landed in the bushes face first and sustained a cut above her lip.
The woman said that immediately following the incident she was in shock and was scared to tell officers what happened because of LoCastro's authority as a public figure and political influence in Southwest Florida.
During the investigation, detectives received statements from restaurant staff who advised the woman did not have any visible marks or injuries while at the restaurant or when she left.
Investigators discovered there was a very short span of time between when he left the restaurant and police officers arrived, responding to the 911 call.
The follow up investigation revealed LoCastro as the primary physical aggressor and an arrest warrant was requested for LoCastro, for the offense of dating violence-related battery.
Because of LoCastro's position as a political official in Southwest Florida, the investigation was referred to the Office of the Governor for reassignment, who then referred it to prosecutors of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, in Monroe County.
The Office of the State Attorney approved the arrest warrant on Jan. 30.
LoCastro, who was elected to the Collier board in 2020, is running for re-election this fall.
LoCastro's district encompasses East Naples, Marco Island, Goodland, Isles of Capri and Port of the Islands.
Staff reporters Liz Freeman, Laura Layden and J. Kyle Foster contributed to this report.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples police report details of incident regarding Rick LoCastro
