TAMPA, Fla. – A 29-year-old Tampa man is facing a string of felony charges following a violent encounter that left a victim hospitalized with severe injuries. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the ten charges against Derrick Speights, Jr., a career criminal currently being held without bond in Hillsborough County.
The case stems from an incident on September 28, 2025. Investigators say Speights linked up with the victim online before showing up at her home armed with a handgun. Once inside, the victim reported being subjected to repeated physical and sexual abuse.
The assault was so severe that authorities described the victim as unrecognizable. Before leaving the scene, Speights allegedly made off with the woman’s cash, purse, phone, and keys to both her home and car.
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While the victim’s abandoned vehicle was recovered a week after the attack, Speights remained at large until March 6, 2026, when he was picked up on a warrant for a separate, unrelated case. During the investigation, detectives used DNA evidence to link Speights to the September assault.
“The victim in this case fought through what could have been her last breath, and our prosecutors will fight to bring justice in court,” Attorney General Uthmeier said in a statement. He credited the Tampa Police Department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for their work in tracking Speights down.
The list of charges against Speights is extensive. It includes life-level felonies such as sexual battery with great bodily harm, along with home invasion robbery, armed burglary, and kidnapping.
Because Speights has a prior criminal record, he is also charged as a felon in possession of a firearm.
Speights is currently booked at the Falkenburg Road Jail. If a jury finds him guilty on these counts, he faces the possibility of multiple life sentences in state prison. The case is being handled by Special Counsel Rita Peters within the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit.
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