A fight over food, then son chops a $100 bill in half and hurls ax at dad, cops say

A Stock Island man was jailed Monday after police said he threw an ax at his father during a family dispute.

Austin Odom, 26, hurled the ax at about 10 a.m. inside their home at 6475 Second St. Apt. C after 47-year-old Raymond Odom asked his son for money to buy food, according to Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. David Lariz.

The younger Odom became angry over the request, slapped a $100 bill onto the counter and chopped it in half with the ax, police said.

Then he threw the ax at his dad, who ducked and put up his hand to protect his head. The ax struck him on the wrist.

A witness said he he was across the street when he heard someone screaming for help and walked over to see what was happening.

“He saw the victim holding his wrist,” said Deputy Becky Herrin, spokeswoman for Sheriff Rick Ramsay’s office. “The witness confronted the suspect and talked him into handing over the ax.”

Deputies arrived to find the witness, seize the ax and find the suspect upstairs.

The father was taken to Lower Keys Medical Center where he was being treated for serious injuries to his wrist Monday. The suspect told Deputy Matt Dowling his father was bothering him about money.

Austin Odom said he refused to give him money and his father called him names, Herrin said. He said he became enraged and threw the ax at his father.

The suspect was charged with battery with a deadly weapon and he was booked into the Stock Island Detention Center without bond.

This story was originally published March 21, 2017 at 5:42 AM with the headline "A fight over food, then son chops a $100 bill in half and hurls ax at dad, cops say."