Marine in priest attack off the hook despite incriminating video

CLEARWATER, Florida - Newly-released video shows graphic details of a high-profile assault... but it does little to shed light as to why Marine reservist Jasen Bruce struck a Greek Orthodox priest several times over the head with a crow bar.

The court discovery, released Tuesday, included five DVDs and CDs.  There were pages of interviews and several audio tapes included, plus an hour of the Bubba the Love Sponge radio show where Bruce talked about the incident.

New surveillance video shows Bruce chasing the priest out of his Channelside garage, then striking him with a tire iron.  But after the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office announced Monday that it will not pursue charges against Bruce, he's breathing a sigh of relief.

"I feel good; I'm vindicated," said Bruce during a news conference at his attorney's Clearwater office after the announcement.
  
In a written statement Prosecutor Mike Sinicore says, "After considering the law, the evidence and the information and arguments provided by defense counsel, it is evident that we cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Bruce committed a crime and acted without legal justification."
 
In November, Bruce was arrested and faced a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. At the time, Tampa Police said the priest visiting from Greece got lost and entered a parking garage to ask directions. Police say Bruce thought the Rev. Alexios Marakis, dressed in robes and sandals, was a terrorist and attacked him with the tire iron.
 
But right away, Bruce offered a very different account of events. Bruce says the priest made a sexual advance and grabbed his genitals and that he was defending himself.  A 911 call placed by Bruce while he was chasing down the priest reflects that account.
 
After news reports about the incident, Bruce's attorney Jeffrey Brown says they heard from a man in Pinellas who told them Marakis tried to pick him up at a Publix grocery store. "I have had some weird dealings with him," they quote Aaron Sakevich as saying.
 
The priest's attorney Jerry Theophilopoulos says Bruce got a break, because he's been a confidential informant for the Tampa Police department. "The snitch got the benefit of the deal."
 
Bruce confirms he has been a confidential informant, but says that had nothing to do with his case. Sinicore also says that did not play a part in the state's decision.
 
Marakis, who had been visiting St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Tarpon Springs, has already returned to Greece.