No Charges Filed in Marine Reservist’s Attack on Priest

BOSTON – U.S. Marine reservist Jasen Bruce, 28, will not be charged for his alleged attack on priest-monk Alexios Marakis, former assistant priest at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Tarpon Springs, Florida on Nov. 9, 2009. The incident sent Fr. Marakis to an area hospital for treatment. Mike Sinacore, head of the felony division of the Hillsborough County state attorney’s office, said that his office checked the evidence, the testimony of both parties involved and the arguments of Bruce’s attorney. Mr. Sinacore stated that, “It is evident that we cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Bruce committed a crime and acted without legal justification.”

Bruce’s defense attorney, Jeff Brown, said that the decision is a vindication of his client and stated that “everything Jasen has said from the beginning was true and today the state’s attorney realized it.”

On the other hand, Attorney Jerry Theophilopoulos, who is representing St. Nicholas Cathedral and Fr. Marakis, said that Bruce is getting special treatment because he worked as confidential informant. According to the Tampa Tribune, Mr. Theophilopoulos stated, “The state attorney’s office in Tampa either has no confidence in its attorneys or the charge was dropped because Jasen Bruce has been working with Tampa law enforcement as a confidential informant, otherwise known as a snitch, well before he beat the priest up with a tire iron.”

Mr. Brown acknowledged his client is an informant, but that the state attorney’s decision was based on the circumstances of the incident, not his client’s contacts.

Jasen Bruce allegedly beat Fr. Marakis, apparently with a tire iron, after mistakenly identifying him as a terrorist because of his long beard, hair and Greek Orthodox clerical garb.

Fr. Marakis was taken by an ambulance to a hospital where he was treated and released. Bruce was arrested and ended up in jail accused of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He was released on $7,500 bail.

Bruce’s lawyer, Jeff Brown, claimed self-defense, maintaining that the 28 year-old Bruce had been followed into the parking garage of his Tampa apartment building by Fr. Marakis, who then made sexual comments and grabbed the reservist’s genitals.

Fr. Marakis, in an interview with The National Herald in November of 2009, denied that he made sexual advances to the Marine reservist. He said, “What can I say more about such a lie? His lawyer told him [what to say] and he repeated it after 24 hours, after a whole day [passed].”

Twenty-nine year-old Fr. Alexios Marakis came to the United States to pursue graduate studies at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts. During those two years Fr. Marakis had been filling in at various parishes in New England that lacked a permanent priest. He often accompanied Metropolitan Methodios on his visits around New England. Last summer, Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta visited Fr. Marakis’ monastery on the island-Crete in Greece and invited Alexios to serve a parish in his Metropolis. Fr. Marakis was appointed to St. Nicholas Cathedral in Tarpons Springs as an assistant priest.

Archbishop Ireneos of Crete directed Fr. Marakis to return back to Crete, and he did so as of January, 2010.

E-mail: kalmoukos@ekirikas.com