Sheriff”s Agents Corral Hammer Attacker
By Space Coast Daily // August 17, 2012
Victim Airlifted To Melbourne For Treatment
BREVARD COUNTY • TITUSVILLE, FLORIDA – Alert action by Brevard County Sheriff’s Department Agents resulted in the apprehension and arrest of an attempted murderer Friday morning in Titusville.
Sgt. JoAnna Seigel of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Department said Agents Ernest Cathy and Mike Traylor of the North Precinct General Crimes Unit were patrolling the north Titusville area Friday in an attempt to prevent early morning burglaries in the business district.
Seigel said that at about 6:40 a.m., Cathy and Traylor wre driving west on Garden Street in Titusville and observed a man walking away from an abandoned business at 3160 Garden Street with a hammer in his hand.
Suspecting that the man was involved in a crime, the agents pulled into the parking lot to talk to the man carrying the hammer.
Victim found
Upon entering the parking lot, the agents saw a second man lying in a fetal position on the northwest corner of the building covered in blood.
“Agents immediately confronted the male with the hammer,” Seigel said.
The suspect was ordered to drop the hammer several times before finally complying.
The hammer was covered in blood and the suspect, John Paul Angelillo, was detained by the detectives until officers with the Titusville Police Department arrived to take him into custody.
Segiel said Agent Cathy and Agent Traylor rendered aid to victim, David James Gotshall, until rescue units arrived.
Because of Gotshall’s critical medical condition, he was airlifted to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne.
Severe injuries
Gotshall had been beaten, kicked, and struck multiple times with a hammer. He suffered multiple facial and skull fractures, the loss of an eye and sustained injuries to his ribs and body and possible broken bones in his arm.
Angelillo, 33, was placed under arrest by the Titusville Police Department and has been charged with attempted murder.
He was previously arrested in 2009 by Titusville police for cultivation of marijuana.
Brevard County Sheriff Jack Parker priased Agents Cathy and Traylor for their quick actions.
:By being aggressive and proactive, Agents Cathy and Traylor were able to prevent a murder, save a victim’s life and put a very dangerous criminal behind bars for what will hopefully be a very, very long time,” Parker said. “We are extremely proud of both of them.”
