A former Leesburg mayor has been arrested after allegedly attacking EMS personnel summoned to his waterfront home to render medical assistance.
Robert Bone, head of the Bone Law Firm and a former Leesburg commissioner who previously served as mayor, fell and hit his head on Oct. 1 prompting his wife to call 911, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. His wife said Bone had been “heavily drinking all evening and has been abusing his prescription medication,” the report said. The 59-year-old fell to the floor and hit his nose/mouth area, the report said.
When emergency personnel arrived on the scene, Bone was “laying on the bed” and “propping up his head.” He was bleeding from the nose and mouth.
When EMS workers woke him, Bone became “hostile” and started “yelling profanities.” He did not know the year and was “unsure” what city he was in, the report said. The emergency personnel wanted to transport him to a hospital for a CT scan.
Bone was placed on a stretcher, but became “physically combative.” He unbuckled straps and tried to get off the stretcher. One of the emergency personnel leaned forward and Bone bit his tricep.
A police officer began striking Bone in the face “in order to gain compliance.” Once Bone was brought under control, he was handcuffed to the stretcher. He was transported to the emergency room.
Upon his release, he was arrested on a third-degree felony charge of battery. He was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $2,000 bond.
Bone is a native of Jacksonville. He graduated from Florida State University with a degree in International Affairs in 1987. He continued his education and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina in 1989. During law school, he interned in the civil department of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Columbia, South Carolina.
Once he completed his academic pursuits, Bone moved back to Florida where he passed the Florida Bar in 1990.
He worked as the assistant Fort Myers city attorney from 1994 though 1996. Bone was elected to the Florida North Lake County Hospital District in 2010 and served until 2014 to oversee the imposition of and allotment of property tax for indigent care in Lake County. He was elected to the Leesburg City Commission in 2014 and served as mayor in 2017. He is past president of the Leesburg Area Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club president, Leesburg Historic board member and chairman, and president of the Leesburg Center for the Arts.
