Wife, son of late Rep. C.W. Bill Young arrested; she says police got it wrong

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH -- Patrick Rainey Young and his mother had spent a couple of hours at a lounge in Indian Rocks Beach on Friday night when he and another man first bumped into each other on the dance floor.

The encounter escalated into a brawl, and Young, son of the late U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, was later arrested on a charge of battery on a person 65 or older.

His mother, Beverly Angello Young, well known for taking up the veterans advocacy work that her husband championed during 43 years in Congress, was arrested on charges of driving under the influence while leaving with Patrick Young from JD's Restaurant & Lounge.

Witnesses described Patrick Young as the aggressor, saying the 30-year-old Pinellas Park man, weighing 300 pounds, slammed 65-year-old William D. Delange into a bathroom mirror and left him with cuts to his face, according to an arrest affidavit.

Beverly Young, 62, of Indian Shores told a different story, saying the other man was the aggressor and broke her son's leg. She was driving her son to get medical care, she said, when she was pulled over about four blocks from the lounge.

"It didn't happen the way police reported," Beverly Young said in a phone interview Monday with the Tampa Bay Times. "Some guy jumped Pat in a bar."

The bloodshot, glassy, watery eyes deputies noted in arresting her, she said, were actually the result of a cataract procedure she had undergone.

Asked to comment on Beverly Young's account of the episode, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office stood by the arrests.

"Deputies conducted thorough investigations that resulted in probable cause to arrest Beverly and Patrick Young," said Sgt. Spencer Gross, sheriff's spokesman.

"There are independent witnesses, photographs and video that will prove the cases in court. We will not engage the Youngs in a back-and-forth through the media, and we have no further comment on this matter."

Contacted by the Times, Delange declined to comment. Patrick Young did not return a phone call. No one at the restaurant, which is closed Mondays, was immediately available for comment.

Deputies gave this account of the incident in arrest affidavits:

Patrick Young and Delange were both on the dance floor about 9:45 p.m. at JD's, 125 Gulf Blvd., when they bumped into each other several times and started arguing. Young purposely began bumping his shoulder against Delange and Delange's wife.

The two men then wrestled onto the floor and Delange suffered a cut to his face. He went into the bathroom to wash his face and Young followed him in. Young put Delange in a headlock, according to witnesses, and smashed his face into a mirror. Delange had several cuts to his face while Young appeared to have dried blood near his mouth.

Beverly Young drove her and her son away from the lounge but was pulled over after a deputy saw her drive across a concrete median to make a left turn at Gulf Boulevard and Fourth Avenue, her arrest affidavit says. A traffic sign there says only right turns are allowed, the affidavit said.

A breath test showed Beverly Young's blood alcohol level was .076, just under the level at which drivers are considered impaired in Florida, the affidavit said. But she failed field sobriety tests. She was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence.

"They smelled alcohol and asked me if I was under the legal limit," she told the Times. "I was under the legal limit. He said my eyes were bloodshot, watery and glassy, but I just had implants in my eyes. I just had cataracts surgery. That's why my eyes were bloodshot, watery and glassy."

A breath test is only one portion of a DUI investigation and is given only after an arrest is made, said Sgt. Steve Gaskins, spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol. Gaskins, speaking in general terms and not about the Young arrest, said field sobriety tests can be administered first, including the finger-to-nose test, walk-and-turn test and one-leg-stand tests.

Young said she and her son were at JD's, which is less than 2 miles from her house, for about two hours Friday. JD's advertises itself as a family-owned operation with a friendly, family atmosphere and live, local entertainment.

C.W. Bill Young was the longest-serving Republican in Congress and a lawmaker who consistently brought federal dollars to the Tampa Bay area and his home district in Pinellas County. He died in October 2013 at age 82 from complications related to a chronic injury.

Beverly Young has remained a passionate advocate for veterans and veteran issues and can often be found supporting those who are treated and work at the VA hospital at Bay Pines, named in her husband's honor. She's well known to hospital leadership for her advocacy on behalf of veterans and employees.

Beverly Young was released from jail on her own recognizance, according to jail records. Her son was released on $5,000 bail.

Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Contact Howard Altman at (813) 225-3112 or haltman@tampabay.com. Follow @haltman.