Fight between homeless men in Key West began with a glass fish. It ended with an arrest

Key West’s Mallory Square is famous worldwide for its street performers and daily celebration of the sunset.

But early Saturday, the top tourist spot was the scene of a fight between two homeless men that ended with one man jailed on an attempted murder charge and the other airlifted to a Miami hospital, police said.

Kyle Gassett, 25, was arrested after police said he got into a violent argument with Mark Toner at the city’s “panhandling zone,” where people are allowed to ask for money from passersby without fear of arrest for public begging.

The Mallory Square panhandling zone is in a corner of the parking lot.

Toner struck the first blow in the 400 block of Wall Street, police said.

His weapon was a glass figurine of a fish that had been used as a cash container and was on the ground, according to Key West police spokeswoman Alyson Crean.

Toner dumped out the cash from the glass fish and hit Gassett over the head with it, Crean said.

Gassett fought back, she said.

“Gassett jumped on Toner and began violently beating him with a closed fist until he was unconscious,” Crean said in a statement. “Gassett continued to violently beat Toner after he was unconscious.”

Police arrived and ordered Gassett to stop.

Gassett stood up “aggressively,” Crean said, and took a step toward Sgt. Billy Vasquez, who used his stun gun on Gassett.

Gassett resisted and Vasquez stunned him a second time.

Toner suffered multiple facial fractures and head injuries, Crean said, and was flown by a helicopter ambulance to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

He was listed in stable condition on Saturday.

Gassett was taken to Lower Keys Medical Center for an examination before he was booked into the Stock Island Detention Center.

Gassett was charged with second-degree attempted murder and resisting arrest.

Toner could face criminal charges once he is released from the hospital, Crean said.

His family was located in New Jersey and notified.

This story was originally published January 11, 2020 at 12:54 PM.

Gwen Filosa

Miami Herald

Gwen Filosa covers Key West and the Lower Florida Keys for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald and lives in Key West. She was part of the staff at the New Orleans Times-Picayune that in 2005 won two Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of Hurricane Katrina. She graduated from Indiana University.