A Villager who goes by the name Bongo Bob has completed an anger management class after an attack on a special events staffer during the spring craft festival at Brownwood Paddock Square.
Last week in Sumter County Court, proof was submitted that 66-year-old Robert Xavier Murphy of the Village of Fenney, had completed a four-hour anger management course. It was part of a pre-trial intervention deal that should lead to the formal dismissal of a charge of battery.
The altercation occurred April 8 when Murphy was attempting to drop off his musical equipment at a restaurant at Brownwood Paddock Square. Murphy had been slated to perform with the band The Analogs at the downtown venue, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. The percussionist wanted to drive his vehicle beyond a traffic barricade set up for the arts and crafts show, which drew an enormous crowd to the square over the Easter weekend. Members of The Villages Special Events team informed Murphy, who stands 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 234 pounds, that the traffic barricade would remain in place. The Boston native “became very aggressive and verbally abusive” toward the event staff and grabbed one staffer by his shirt, according to witnesses. Murphy’s wife had accompanied her husband downtown and was shopping, the report noted. She said she turned around and saw her husband and the other person “yelling in each other’s faces and pushing one another,” the report said
Murphy moved to The Villages to retire in 2017, but has been performing in a number of local bands.
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