Assault, witness tampering charges against Space Coast Rocket owner dropped in plea deal
Brevard County political consultant Robert Burns pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct Friday, in exchange for prosecutors dropping more serious charges related to an incident last fall in which Burns filmed himself angrily confronting a woman at her Melbourne workplace.
A Brevard County court agreed to toss out assault and trespassing charges and lower a felony witness tampering charge against Burns to the misdemeanor count in exchange for his plea, court records show. Burns was ordered to apologize to the woman in writing and pay court costs related to the case as part of the deal.
Burns was arrested in September after confronting the woman, a longtime supporter of State Rep. Randy Fine (R-Melbourne Beach), with whom Burns has shared a long public feud, at the Melbourne car rental agency where she works.
The incident began over what he described in a statement as "sexually charged" Facebook comments she made about his children. He was originally charged with witness tampering after the woman said he knocked the phone out of her hand when she tried to dial 911 during the encounter, which Burns filmed on his cell phone.
Burns denied interfering with her 911 call, and said he never touched the woman throughout the nine-minute clip. He has blamed Fine for helping to whip up the charges against him, which Fine has repeatedly denied.
"As I think most fathers would understand, defending your children comes before anything else," Burns said Friday, in a statement posted to the Space Coast Rocket's Facebook page. "Since these charges were filed, a large group of people led by State Rep Randy Fine have been lying about what the charges were, what happened, amongst MANY other things on more than a daily basis."
Burns said he would be publishing extensive depositions taken as part of the case, including a deposition of Fine by Burns' lawyer, Brevard criminal defense attorney Jessica Travis.
"They will continue to try and suppress, silence, and attack me, but I never quit, and will ALWAYS defend those whom I love and support," Burns wrote.
Fine, in his own statement Friday, pointed to other charges for alleged violent incidents Burns has faced over the years, calling Burns a "psychopath." "Women in Brevard County will be safer when he is behind bars," Fine wrote.
Burns is also facing other legal problems. He pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud after an indictment earlier this month accused him of defrauding a federal pandemic small business loan program back in 2021.
He is also awaiting a verdict in a case related to alleged election law violations in connection with his campaign consulting and electioneering work.
Eric Rogers is a watchdog reporter for FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Rogers at 321-242-3717 or [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard political consultant takes plea deal in Melbourne assault case
