A Florida man allegedly beat another man bloody with an aluminum baseball bat after catching the victim with his wife.
Thirty-three-year-old John Dimmig now faces charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and burglary with battery, CBS 12 reported Friday.
According to Flaherty and Merrifield Criminal Defense, the state’s courts hold a serious view of attempted murder charges and reserve harsh penalties for persons suspected of trying to kill someone else.
The night of the incident, officials with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) arrived at the scene, an apartment in Lake Worth Beach.
When deputies entered the dwelling, they found blood everywhere. A trail of it led to a bedroom where a bleeding man was holding a towel to his head. He was eventually transported to a hospital for treatment.
“The victim told deputies that he was in town from Arizona working as a CT technician. He said he went out for drinks with a coworker, Dimmig’s wife, and the two later went back to his Airbnb at 820 South Federal Highway,” the CBS report said.
The victim was apparently in bed with Dimmig’s wife when the front door opened, and Dimmig allegedly rushed toward the victim.
The suspect allegedly struck the victim three times with the bat until his wife separated them. He then reportedly warned the victim not to approach his wife again in the future.
The victim later told law enforcement, “I felt like he was out to kill me.”
Baseball bats can fracture a person’s bones because they are meant to strike a ball with significant force, and “they can cause serious injury if used to strike someone,” according to Honest Baseball.
Surveillance footage recorded at the Airbnb reportedly shows Dimmig entering the residence with a bat just before midnight, and a woman is later heard screaming.
Deputies eventually recovered an aluminum bat and a shirt that appeared to have blood stains on it.
The suspect later claimed he was home all day except for a short trip to a nearby Publix store, adding he kept a bat for self-defense purposes and sports. He also denied ever having hit another person with the object.
However, law enforcement identified Dimmig’s vehicle near where the beating took place. Following his arrest, he was transported to the Palm Beach County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court on July 17.