A Villager who performs in a local band was arrested after an altercation during the arts and crafts festival at Brownwood Paddock Square.
Robert Xavier Murphy, 66, of the Village of Fenney, had been attempting to drop off his music equipment at about 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the square in preparation for his performance with the band The Analogs at a Brownwood restaurant, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department.
The percussionist, also known as “Bongo Bob,” wanted to drive his vehicle beyond a traffic barricade set up for the arts and craft 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 told police 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 spent 30 years in Fort Lauderdale where he acquired a love and passion for percussion due to its Latin flair, according to his biography with the Analogs band. He plays the drums and bongos. Murphy moved to The Villages to retire in 2017, but has been performing in a number of local bands.
He was arrested on a charge of battery and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. He was released after posting $500 bond.
