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Ketchup Packet Toss at St. Petersburg Bus Terminal Triggers Felony Charge and Drug Count

A 2019 battery conviction elevates the case to a third-degree felony carrying a potential five-year sentence.

Overview

  • Police say Austin Simmons, 28, allegedly threw an open ketchup packet at a passerby who checked on him at PSTA Grand Central Station in St. Petersburg.
  • The alleged victim had two ketchup spots on his jacket, and officers noted the roughly 0.3-ounce packet was not collected as evidence.
  • After the arrest, a search uncovered a small chalky substance that police described as cocaine, resulting in an additional possession charge.
  • Simmons was booked into Pinellas County Jail on a $5,000 bond and was ordered at an initial hearing to have no contact with the alleged victim.
  • Reports conflict on timing, citing either Monday evening or Tuesday night for the incident, and police records list Simmons as homeless.