May 28 – Florida Man Uses His 1-Year-Old Child As Shield During Stand-Off With Police

Imagine being so selfish that you endanger the safety of your toddler for the sake of being safe. That would speak so much about your fatherhood and the disposition of your heart. You might have been hurting kids to not want to feel the pain on behalf of your young child.

A Florida man, not worthy to be considered a father, was arrested and charged with multiple felonies after he used his 1-year-old son and placed him in front during a confrontation with law enforcement.

27-year-old Brandon Matthew Douglas Leohner, a Palm Coast resident had been involved in an argument with his girlfriend, which was only vocal until the man grabbed his one-year-old son. When a concerned neighbor got into the home, Leohner went into a paranoid episode even as to think his girlfriend had set him up, per the girlfriend’s account.

The arrest report, which law enforcement was heavily redacted to, indicated the man was undergoing a paranoid episode when he walked up to his SUV, and opened all the doors, as in searching it or suspecting something. Eventually, the man sat on the wheel with the child, who began to scream. The mom’s efforts outside the car couldn’t make the man return the kid. So, he sped off, plunging his girlfriend into bouts of hysterics over the child’s safety.

The man drove off at a dangerous speed, reaching up to 80 mph, not minding the child’s safety just in case something happened. And when he came out of the car and started running, the cops used a stun gun on him, which set him falling to the ground.

An officer rushed to Leohner and quickly grabbed the child off his hands as he grappled with the pain. Fortunately, the child wasn’t hurt as he reunited with his mother. The father was driven off to the hospital before detainment. Leohner was called out by the detention center for child neglect and kidnapping a minor besides a misdemeanor charge for reckless driving.

See Also:

• Florida Man Headlines – May 27
• Florida Man News – May 26
• Florida Man Calendar – May 25

May 28 – Florida Man Miraculously Escapes 12-Foot Gator in a Deadly Underwater Encounter

A Florida man was humble to be alive after a fatal confrontation with a huge gator during work training. You may escape a gator running after you on land. However, the rules of the game change when it camouflages in water and attacks you without knowledge. Combating a huge reptile in its natural habitat while fighting to breathe is almost impossible.

J. C. La Verde was on the verge of death when he had to fight off a huge alligator in the water. The man, even though he came out with a serious skull injury, was grateful to be alive. La Verde, a firefighter who had previously worked with the U.S. Air Force as pararescue, was able to think through the stressful situation and refuse to be overcome by such a huge reptile.

The man recounted the attack, saying he was shooting an instructional video for his company DefeatX when a 12-foot gator crept straight to him. The man holding the video camera was able to capture the reptile as it advanced toward La Verde and within no time, all La Verde could feel was scales and teeth. He quickly realized what he was dealing with and had to stand his ground, refusing to die. The man found himself already inside the reptile and tried to open its jaws before putting his hands inside the animal’s mouth.

The two struggled as La Verde refused to give up, saying, “I knew I either turned it or it turned me.” His resilience must have confused the alligator as it eventually allowed him to go. The man immediately swam to the dock when a good Samaritan came right then and drove him to the hospital.

The reptile had ripped his skull, leaving serious injuries that demanded an emergency surgery and another in the future. The man commented on the whole situation saying, “Find your god. Find him.”