Motorist takes bad driving to whole new level, deputies say

PALM HARBOR -- Instead of grumbling and driving away after getting two traffic tickets, authorities say a Safety Harbor man tried to ram the cruisers of the deputies who stopped him.

Anthony Louis Lanni (left), 30, was arrested early this morning after trying to hit a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office patrol car, sheriff's spokeswoman Cecilia Barreda said.

Barreda said Lanni was initially stopped at Lake St. George Drive and Wesleyan Drive in Palm Harbor after running a stop sign. He did not stop immediately and was verbally abusive when the deputies made contact.

After getting his tickets, Lanni drove to a side road and waited, deputies said. When the two deputies started to move, he drove his 1984 BMW into the intersection in an attempt to hit the patrol car, officials said. The deputy swerved to avoid Lanni’s car. Lanni then started to walk away from the deputy and the car before he was taken to the ground and arrested.

Lanni’s girlfriend, Brittni Glover, said he is a devoted father and a hard worker. She said he wouldn’t try to hit the cruiser; the gears on the old BMW stick and cause the car to jerk forward.

“He’s a good person,” she said. “He’s not some crazy maniac or anything.”

It’s not Lanni’s first ticket, according to court records. His driver’s license has been suspended more than 10 times for not paying traffic tickets on time and has gone to driving school four times in the last 7 years.

Lanni was charged with reckless driving, resisting arrest and aggravated assault with a motor vehicle in addition to tickets for running a stop sign and an obstructed license plate. He was being held at the Pinellas County Jail today in lieu of $5,400 bail.

Jackie Alexander, Times staff writer

[Pinellas Country Sheriff's Office]