An 84-year-old Largo man was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries after police say a neighbor showed up at his home, threw a liquid in his face and then beat him with a hammer.
Largo police say the 55-year-old suspect attacked the older man at the victim’s Largo residence, first dousing his face with a liquid and then striking him with a hammer. The victim suffered injuries to his eyes, arms and head and was hospitalized for treatment. According to investigators, the suspect later told officers that God, whom he referred to as his “father,” had ordered him to kill the man.
According to Tampa Bay 28, Largo Police identified the suspect as 55-year-old Brian Rye of Largo and charged him with attempted first-degree murder along with several other felonies. An arrest affidavit cited in the report says Rye went to the victim’s home, knocked on the door, threw liquid into the man’s face to blind him, then grabbed a hammer from a toolbox and attacked. The document describes the victim as having “significant clear bloody injuries” to his eyes, arms and head.
As reported by WFLA (via Yahoo), the affidavit quotes Rye as telling officers his “father (God)” told him to “kill a pedophile,” and that he carried a cayenne-pepper mixture to temporarily blind the victim before the assault. That account adds that Rye smashed a window on the victim’s trailer and resisted officers as they tried to arrest him. He was booked into the Pinellas County Jail and was being held without bond, the outlet reports.
What police say
Largo police told investigators there is no known prior relationship between the two men and that the assault was a targeted attack rather than a spur-of-the-moment confrontation. The arrest affidavit quoted in Tampa Bay 28 records Rye stating, “I was going to kill him,” while describing what he did to the victim.
Charges and legal context
Rye faces charges including attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon causing great bodily harm, burglary with battery, criminal mischief and resisting an officer, according to WFLA (via Yahoo). Florida’s criminal-attempt statute, F.S. 777.04, outlines how attempts are defined and ranked for sentencing, while the state’s homicide statute, F.S. 782.04, defines murder offenses and related classifications. Together, those laws show that attempted offenses are punished based on the severity of the underlying crime and can carry lengthy prison terms. Prosecutors will decide how to move forward as the case proceeds in court.
