A 31-year-old Summerland Key man was arrested Monday night for attacking a kitchen worker at Looe Key Tike Bar & Grill on Ramrod Key and then striking a storage trailer while fleeing the scene in a pickup truck.
Merkey was medically cleared at the hospital and then taken to jail.
Nicholas Elgin Merkey was charged with battery, hit and run involving damage to property and two counts of resisting arrest without violence.
Deputies Anthony Buscemi, Christian Deen, Timothy Oggeri and Zachary Eason responded to the business at 7:20 p.m. They were told the suspect, identified as Markey, had fled the scene southbound on U.S. 1 in a Ford pickup truck. The truck and Merkey were found at a gas station on Summerland Key shortly thereafter. Merkey stated he got into a fight with another male at the Looe Key Tiki Bar & Grill due to the other male sleeping with his ex-girlfriend. Merkey had a bloody lip and bumps and bruises consistent with being in a fight.
Multiple witnesses stated Merkey attacked a worker in the kitchen. The worker had injuries, including teeth marks on his body, consistent with being in a fight. The kitchen was disheveled with large amounts of food as well as pots, pans, etc … knocked over and strewn about. The worker stated he was dating Merkey’s ex-girlfriend.
Witnesses stated after the fracas in the kitchen, Merkey got into the truck, struck a wooden tiki stand, causing damage to a fence and then struck a storage trailer before leaving the scene. The storage trailer housed the bar’s alcohol supply. The impact caused bottles of various liquors to fall and break. The estimated cost of the loss in liquor was still being determined Monday night.
Merkey resisted arrest by refusing to get in a patrol car and using his dead weight, requiring deputies to carry him. Merkey was taken to Lower Keys Medical Center, but began kicking the roof of a patrol car as well as the Plexiglas® partition while en route.
Merkey was medically cleared at the hospital and then taken to jail.