A Florida man is dead after police say he attacked deputies who tried to assist after the man tossed a 9-year-old boy into a fire.
On Tuesday, police arrested 39-year-old Richard Myron Ham at a burn spot on U.S. Route 98 in Sebring. According to the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office, responding deputies found the defendant at the scene, holding two rods.
Deputies asked him to drop the rods, but Ham allegedly refused orders, prompting the deputies to use a Taser. Deputies said the Taser appeared to have little effect on him.
“Ham pulled the Taser probes from his body and re-armed himself with one of the bars,” Highlands County Sheriff Paul Blackman said, according to Fox News Digital. “He then swung the metal rod and struck a deputy in the head.”
One of the deputies fired shots, striking Ham following the attack. He was rushed to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. The officer that Ham attacked was also taken to the hospital after sustaining injuries.
While investigating, police learned that both Ham and 30-year-old Lakenya Phillips were in the process of burning the child’s possessions, identified as Phillips’ son.
Witnesses later told investigators that the pair burned the victim and threw a burning blanket on him. The victim managed to escape the fire without any serious injuries.
“Ham and Phillips were burning the possessions of Phillips’ 9-year-old son because they believed he was possessed by a demon,” HCSO said. “At one point, witnesses said, Ham put the child into the fire and covered him with a blanket that was also on fire. The child was able to escape serious injury and is currently in DCF custody.”
The victim told investigators that he had not eaten in 24 hours and had not brushed his teeth or bathed for nearly two weeks. He added that the defendants were drug users and that Ham previously threatened him with a large knife and warned that he had already killed someone.
Investigators are currently looking into the claims.
Both Phillips and the child were reported missing on December 6, out of Wichita, Kansas. Police said it’s currently unclear why they traveled to Florida.
Phillips is currently behind bars, without bail, on charges of Phillips, 30, on charges of “attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence and cruelty toward a child,” HCSO said.
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[Feature Photo via Highlands County Sheriff’s Office]
