Man arrested following hallucinogenic/alcohol fueled sledgehammer rampage

A 32-year-old Hialeah Gardens, Florida man wielding a sledgehammer did thousands of dollars in damage to vehicles and residences Sunday afternoon whilst trying to kill “demons” he believed were tormenting him.

Rafael Suarez Gomez faces multiple charges of property damage, property damage greater than $1,000, burglary and resisting arrest.

There were no serious injuries reported.

Sheriff’s Office 911 Communications Officers began receiving multiple 911 phone calls at approximately 2:30 p.m. from a litany of residents on Little Torch Key who were reporting a man with a sledgehammer on Pirates Road was destroying property throughout the neighborhood.

Deputies Ty Torres, Jon Riggs and Juan Martin-Reyes responded. Victims/witnesses flagged down Deputy Torres and told him the suspect, later identified as Gomez, subsequently jumped into a canal. Deputy Torres went to an adjacent street, Blackbeard Road, and found Gomez walking down the street carrying a sledgehammer. Deputy Riggs soon joined him. They ordered Gomez at gunpoint to drop the sledgehammer and to get on the ground. Gomez complied, but wrapped himself up in the fetal position with his arms and hands near his chest. Gomez pulled away multiple times as the Deputies tried to handcuff him. Deputy Riggs stunned Gomez with his Taser. Gomez was subsequently handcuffed and placed into custody.

Deputies then began canvassing the neighborhood to assess the damage:

  • The first victim on Blackbeard Road stated Gomez broke a $300 window at his residence before running away.
  • The second nearby victim stated he saw Gomez strike his pickup truck door, causing $200 in damage, before running away to another neighbor’s house.
  • Deputies returned to Pirates Road and found two more vehicles with extensive damage: Windows smashed, side mirrors smashed and multiple dents. The vehicles belonged to Fine Design Builders. Next to one of the vehicles was a camper also owned by the business. The entire inside of the camper had been destroyed. Deputies spoke to a business employee who stated Gomez lives in the trailer. Deputies totaled seven sliding doors, two hurricane French doors, six windows, four mirrors, one microwave oven and two televisions were all destroyed, along with multiple holes in the walls.
  • A final nearby victim stated he returned home to find a window in his car shattered, an upstairs window of his residence shattered and a screen door damaged. Inside his residence, a television and multiple other objects were destroyed.

Gomez told Deputies he had been drinking that day when someone gave him an unknown narcotic/hallucinogenic drug to consume. Gomez stated he consumed the unknown drug and a short time later he began seeing “demons.” Gomez stated the “demons” ordered him to damage property. Gomez stated he was trying to kill the “demons” with the sledgehammer.

Gomez was taken to jail.

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