Deputies report rampage of naked, shocking behavior
An Inverness man broke into a home, threatened neighbors and put his fingers in a socket, deputies say.
By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published May 2, 2005
INVERNESS - An Inverness man was arrested Saturday after breaking into his neighbors' house and threatening them, shocking himself by sticking his fingers into a lamp socket, threatening a deputy with a metal rod, running naked through his yard and chewing through a cable in a patrol car, authorities said.
Authorities arrested Shyne Harris Phelps, 39, of 2510 Jupiter St., at 1:45 a.m., on charges of kidnapping, burglary of a dwelling, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with intent to commit a felony, resisting an officer with violence, battery and criminal mischief, an arrest report said.
Deputies were called to a home on East Dawson Drive, just behind Beall's, at 1:35 a.m. after getting a call of a burglary in progress.
On arrival, Deputy Lynn Tabb saw several people standing in the yard, pointing and yelling. Then he heard something hit the rear passenger side of the patrol car.
When Tabb turned, he saw a man holding a metal rod and wearing only a sheet wrapped around his waist, a report said. He was yelling that he was "ready to go to jail."
Tabb got out of his car and ordered the man to drop the rod. He did, but quickly picked it up again and made a threatening gesture. Tabb pulled his gun. The man dropped the rod but shouted that he was "ready to die" and took off running.
The man tried to scale a chain-link fence to get back to his home on the adjoining property.
The deputy fired a Taser at him, but it didn't connect. The man threw dirt and rocks in the deputy's face, the report said.
The suspect made it over the fence, losing his sheet in the process and sprinted, naked, into his home, the report said.
Neighbors told Tabb that the man had several guns in the house, but the suspect soon came out of the house and was arrested without further incident.
Four people told deputies that the man came into their home after the family called the Sheriff's Office to complain about noise at Phelps' house.
The man came in through the back door, they said, and grabbed them and shouted, "It is time for you to die."
As he tried to force one of the family members out of the home, one of the victims shot him with a Taser.
That just caused the intruder to demand to be shocked some more. He grabbed a lamp, unscrewed the bulb and stuck his fingers in, shocking himself and yelling.
After Phelps was arrested, deputies say he damaged the patrol car by biting through a cable cord in the back seat.
Phelps was taken to Citrus Memorial Hospital and then booked into the county jail.
He was held without bail.
--Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 860-7312 or
[email protected]
Probably find lots of willing subjects out there....
