ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A local minister has been accused of writing an anti-gay message on a receipt at a St. Augustine restaurant, then ripping open the manager's shirt and stuffing the receipt down it during a confrontation.
Jail records show Frederic Smith, 62, is out on bond after being arrested and charged with battery after allegedly touching the woman's breast.
Smith's name was redacted from the St. Augustine police report, but Action News Jax linked it to Smith by matching the report number with the court record online.
Smith’s @LinkedIn page- which is now either private or deleted- states he studied the ministry & volunteered with the Boy Scouts. In a post on the website of his charity, he refers to himself as Reverend. @ActionNewsJax https://t.co/Sa2vl0dgDC
— Russell Colburn (@RussellANjax) August 3, 2019
Staff at the Milagro on 12 Latin Kitchen where the incident occurred told police he left a receipt on his table with no tip Saturday -- on it he allegedly wrote of the server, " If he wasn't gay."
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Action News Jax reporter Russell Colburn spoke exclusively with an employee who saw the incident.
She did not want to give her name or show her face but said she saw her manager get involved.
"He told her, like, 'Yeah I wrote it, and I will
Smith could not be reached for a comment Friday, but, his LinkedIn page, now deleted or made private, stated he went to seminary school and in the post of his charity's website, he refers to himself as a reverend.
The school got back to Action News Jax on Monday and emailed this statement to reporter Russell Colburn:
Frederic Sterry Smith took four classes at Trinity School for Ministry. He received a Diploma in Lay Ministry which is not a degree. Additionally, the School does not ordain people. Suitability for ordination is discerned by their denominational jurisdiction. <br/> <span style="display: none;"> </span>
Cox Media Group
