Florida Publix Slashing Suspect Was Released Months Earlier Despite Victim’s Warnings, Records Show

A Florida male apparently utilized a box cutter to slash a 70-year-old Publix client, a bit more than 3 months after a psychological health court ended his probation in a different case including an unprovoked attack on a teen.

The Punta Gorda Police Department stated Lyons is implicated of worsened battery versus an individual 65 or older in connection with the Oct. 10 event at the Publix grocery store on Tamiami Trail.

A sworn probable-cause affidavit stated Lyons approached the buyer from behind soon before 4 p.m. as the male was going shopping inside the shop.

The victim informed private investigators he felt somebody strike him powerfully and reversed to see Lyons gazing at him while holding a box-cutter blade. After touching his head and seeing blood on his hands, the guy ran towards the front of the shop, according to the affidavit.

Punta Gorda officers showed up and took Lyons into custody at the front of the shop.

Authorities stated he was standing there with his hands on his head. Officers likewise discovered a box cutter in the aisle where the attack apparently happened.

Emergency responders carried the victim to Fawcett Memorial Hospital for treatment of a major 4-to six-inch injury extending from his left cheek to his neck, in addition to a small cut on his upper chest, cops stated.

After waiving his Miranda rights, Lyons informed detectives he had a deep” dislike for the 1960’s age” and stated he had actually gone to the shop planning to eliminate somebody. Authorities stated he picked the victim due to the fact that the consumer” appeared like he was from the 1960’s “and Lyons seemed like” acing him out. ”

“I simply pulled it out of my pocket and stuck it in his neck,”Lyons stated, according to the affidavit.

Lyons likewise informed cops he had psychological health problems and presumably acknowledged costs 2 days preparing the attack. He stated he deliberately left the weapon in the aisle so reacting officers would not utilize a Taser or shoot him, according to private investigators.

The most current supposed attack triggered restored criticism from the mom of a teen Lyons was implicated of attacking formerly.

On March 13, 2025, Lyons presumably punched a 16-year-old in the side of the face at a Wawa gasoline station in Port Charlotte while the teen was holding open a door. After his arrest, the 20th Judicial Circuit court system positioned Lyons in a specialized Mental Health Court diversion program.

Shawna Gentry, the teen’s mom, informed News Media that she opposed the diversion program and advised the state district attorney to pursue prison time, alcohol treatment classes and probation. She stated she cautioned court authorities that Lyons stayed an active and unpredictable hazard.

Charlotte County court minutes reveal that Lyons’probation ended July 6 without opposition from the State Attorney’s Office. The minutes consisted of the handwritten message”Graduation! Congratulations!”beside a hand-drawn smiley face.

“The method the court managed it, the method the state lawyer managed it was really odd to me,” Gentry stated.”They informed us they were sending him to a psychological health center, however he never ever went to a protected location. From what we saw, they simply put him right back onto outpatient probation in our area and cut us entirely out of the procedure.”
Gentry likewise challenged the recommendation that Lyons experienced a psychiatric break throughout the supposed attacks. In her view, he utilized referrals to psychological health as a purposeful legal defense.
“When the constable came, it was nearly like he understood precisely what to state,” Gentry stated. “He instantly stated,’Well, I’ve got psychological health concerns. ‘He was so fast to utilize that word. ”

She likewise stated that Lyons appeared noticeably intoxicated throughout the 2025 attack.
The court supplied no tracking updates, security notifies, or transitional tracking to his previous victims, Gentry stated.
Months later on, Lyons strolled into the Punta Gorda Publix.

Psychological health courts
The National Treatment Court Resource Center counted 679 adult psychological health courts across the country at the end of 2024. A 2021 analysis of 30 examinations connected psychological health court involvement to 74 % lower chances of repeat upseting.

Research on wrongdoers with mental illness recommends that recidivism depends more on criminal history than on medical diagnosis. A 2005 released in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence discovered that the variety of previous offenses was the greatest predictor of reoffending.
“My kid saw it on TikTok, came going to me, and I might see the feeling in his face, “Gentry stated.”Big old tears welled up in his eyes and he stated,’Mom, the guy that struck me simply stabbed an old male at Publix. You were right.'”

” The very first thing out of my kid’s mouth to the constable back in 2025 was that if that male had a weapon or a knife, he would not be here today. Now an innocent elderly person remains in the health center since the system declined to hold him liable.”
The State Attorney’s Office for the 20th Judicial Circuit did not react to comment for demand by publication date.

Lyons stays held without bond at the Charlotte County Jail. His arraignment is arranged for Nov. 16 at the Charlotte County Justice Center.

Court records suggested that Lyons decreased a public protector. It’s uncertain whether he has actually employed a personal lawyer.