Sarasota Man Charged with Aggravated Battery 

NEWS RELEASE 17-226 - OCTOBER 20, 2017

Cokley, Henry

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man on multiple felony charges after they connected him with an aggravated assault and battery.  

Detectives began their investigation following an incident on Saturday when Henry Cokley, DOB 08/26/82, rear-ended the victim’s vehicle repeatedly while she was driving. The victim pulled into a gas station on Washington Blvd. in Sarasota, where Cokley proceeded to ram his vehicle into the victim’s driver side door, pushing it several feet onto a concrete curb. The impact crushed the driver’s side door and window forcing the victim to exit through the back seat. When the victim attempted to flee from Cokley, he pulled her by the hair and repeatedly punched her. Following the incident, deputies were called to a Sarasota residence for multiple reports of the victim jumping from the third story of an apartment building and as a result, breaking both her femur and arm. Further investigation revealed the victim jumped in fear for her life after Cokley made entry through the front window of the apartment. Cokley and the victim were previously in a romantic relationship but separated the day before the incident occurred, on October 13.

 In an attempt to locate Cokley, his photo and vehicle description were shared via sheriff’s office social media on Saturday. Today, Cokley was located and arrested in Ellenton. He now faces charges of Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon, Aggravated Assault, Tampering with a Victim, and Domestic Battery. He remains in custody on $327,000 bond.