He said drugs made him see demons. The ‘demons’ made him grab a sledgehammer, cops say
A Hialeah Gardens man was jailed Sunday after mixing alcohol with a hallucinogen and going on a sledgehammer smashing spree in the Lower Keys, police said.
Rafael Suarez Gomez, 32, left thousands of dollars in damage to vehicles and homes on Little Torch Key on Sunday afternoon.
He had to kill the “demons,” that he believed at the time were tormenting him, he told police later.
Gomez was arrested on charges of property damage, burglary and resisting arrest. On Monday, he remained at the Stock Island Detention Center without a bond.
No serious injuries were reported.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office began receiving multiple 911 calls at about 2:30 p.m. from residents who said a man with a sledgehammer was destroying property on Pirates Road.
Deputies arrived to find Gomez walking down a street carrying a sledgehammer and ordered him to drop the tool and get on the ground.
Gomez hit the ground and wrapped himself in the fetal position. He pulled away several times as deputies tried to handcuff him, police said.
Deputies said they had to use a stun gun on Gomez in order to take him into custody.
The damage included a broken $300 window on Blackbeard Road, a dented pickup truck door, two smashed vehicles and a battered camper. Someone also reported his home had been broken into and inside his television and other items damaged.
Gomez said he had been drinking Sunday when someone gave him a hallucinogenic drug, which he couldn’t identify.
A short time after taking the drug, he said he began seeing “demons,” which ordered him to damage property.
“Gomez stated he was trying to kill the ‘demons’ with the sledgehammer,” said Adam Linhardt, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.
This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 12:40 PM.
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