Toilet Lid Attack: Vegas Man Attacks Neighbor with Toilet, Guitar
A Las Vegas man fell victim to a toilet lid attack and near strangulation when a crazy man invaded his home.
Police say that 41-year-old Ronald Hetzel broke into the home of an unidentified man and struck the homeowner over the head with a guitar and porcelain toilet lid. Hetzel then made several threats about killing the man and attempted to strangle him, reports the Las Vegas Sun.
The struggle for life and death lasted about 20 minutes before police intervened. It's still not clear what prompted Hetzel to lose it, but he had been acting strange for quite some time, report the police.
Police were already in the neighborhood before Hetzel's attack on his neighbor. They had received a call from another neighbor that Hetzel was throwing items from inside a home onto the street, reports the Sun. When police initially arrived, Hetzel was sitting on a curb outside the home screaming incoherently and acting "very hostile."
The police stated that Hetzel was "delirious" and called for backup. In the meantime, they set up a perimeter around him, to try to safely rein him in. However, Hetzel escaped by jumping over a back wall into the backyard of the homeowner he attacked. Police say that Hetzel ripped open the window of his neighbor's house and then proceeded to attack the homeowner.
Hetzel has been charged with home invasion, burglary, attempted murder, and battery with a deadly weapon. The deadly weapon here presumably being the toilet lid.
Given that police described Hetzel as being delirious, it seems unlikely that Hetzel will be convicted of the toilet lid attack. An experienced criminal defense attorney will likely utilize the insanity defense. Still, Hetzel will likely only trade being locked in a jail cell, to being locked in a straight jacket.
Related Resources:
- Man beaten with toilet lid, guitar during home invasion (KTNV)
- Ronald Hetzel Accused Of Breaking Into Las Vegas Home To Beat Owner With Toilet Bowl Lid And Guitar (Huffington Post)
- Woman Shoplifts Diapers, Escapes Arrest Topless, Police Say (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
- TX Woman Stabbed Husband Over Either Facebook Post or PCP? (FindLaw's Legally Weird)