A Silver Springs man is being held without bond in the Marion County Jail after he allegedly used a large knife to cut a man who stopped him from stealing a neighbor’s power.
David Ray Wheat, 53, of 4118 NE 171st Court, was charged Wednesday night with burglary with assault or battery. He just spent more than a month behind bars for failing to appear in court after being arrested in August 2019 for stealing items from a cabin.
The victim told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy that he was checking on an elderly woman who lives near Wheat when he noticed a cord running from the woman’s shed to Wheat’s generator. The victim said the woman has had numerous issues with Wheat stealing power from her residence, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The victim said he walked over and unplugged the power cord, and Wheat came out of his residence and started a verbal argument. The victim said Wheat then unlawfully entered the woman’s house wielding a large silver knife that had brass knuckles attached to the handle and locked him out of the back door, the report said.
At this point, another man heard the verbal altercation and went to the residence. He looked inside the residence and saw Wheat standing with a large knife in the middle of the living room. The witness forcibly entered the residence, separated Wheat from the woman and told him to leave. When Wheat wouldn’t leave, the victim stepped forward to intervene and Wheat swung the knife at him, cutting him on his left elbow, according to the report.
The deputy observed a laceration on the victim’s left elbow and blood on the floor of the residence. Asked if she gave Wheat permission to enter her home, the homeowner said she did not. She and the witness gave similar accounts of the incident, the report said.
Wheat was arrested at his residence. He is scheduled to appear in Marion County Court on June 30.