Last month two Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies showed up at Tony Lagano’s door to talk about a Facebook video he’d posted, in which he’d burned a court document and said the words “school shooting” in passing, though clearly not as a threat. The deputies spoke with him, he explained that what he was saying had nothing to do with shootings–he was upset that a judge had not allowed his daughter to testify in a domestic relations proceeding–and the deputies left.
On April 28, however, Lagano, 35, a resident of 50 Fernwood Lane, was arrested, charged with violating an injunction, and booked at the Flagler County jail on $20,000 bond, an unusually high amount for a first-degree felony. Lagano has been at the jail since, apparently unable to bond out.
Lagano has been involved in a protracted child custody case with his ex-wife. On April 12, he was served with an injunction for protection that stipulated he was to stay away from his ex-wife and have no contact with her either by phone or text, or through any other electronic means. The injunction applies to his ex-wife as well. Lagano ignored it. He all but intentionally violated the injunction to go to jail.
“I know you thought you were going to get rid of me,” he texted his ex-wife after midnight on April 28. “But it just so happens that I love my daughter and I’m going to go to jail for it. So report me go ahead do it, I want you to. I’m not scared of a couple of days in jail bitch. Lolz. Xxx.” Five hours later he texted again, asking “how is our daughter?” The provocative approach mirrors other postings on Lagano’s Facebook page on various issues.
Lagano did not deny sending the texts when deputies showed up at his door, but claimed that his ex-wife “violates the contact order all the time,” according to his arrest report. Nevertheless he was fully aware that the injunction applied to him. He was arrested and booked at the jail–for the fifth time since 2009. But this is the highest bond he’s faced.
Jolene dehart says
Kind of hard to be a good dad in jail. Keep getting a bad record and parental rights will be taken away due to EXTREMELY poor judgement.
Anonymous says
Can’t be a dad if ex keeps him from his kid. Just not right. The privilege of filing injunctions should not be used for spite. Never should a parents right to access their kid be denied or should they be jailed for something like this. Why put the kid on the middle?