A 23-year-old Florida man has been arrested on charges of killing his father with a hammer. A Florida sheriff said Vincent Moccia hit his father, 52-year-old Anthony Girard Moccia III in the head with the hammer after they got into an argument while they were watching television. His brother told reporters Vincent had been acting “strange” the week prior to the killing.
According to the ABC local affiliate in Tampa Bay, Florida, the son told his mother he “did something wrong” and then left in his truck.
Local law enforcement officers found Vincent after he crashed his truck at an intersection in Lakeland. He told deputies that responded that he had “killed his dad.” He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Vincent Moccia has a lengthy criminal record and has reportedly been in the Polk County, Florida, jail on eight prior occasions. He latest arrest was reported to be in May of this year on domestic violence battery, and resisting without violence. It is unknown at this time if the battery involved an assault upon his father. He has been to state prison.
Vincent’s brother, Anthony Moccia IV told the local media outlet that his brother had started acting “strange” last week, and gave examples of his talking about the Bible, God, and how he was a savior.
“I started to think, like what, is he planning on doing something crazy and then he just kept telling everyone that he loves them, he loves them,” Vincent said of his brother.
His brother also said, “It’s stuck in my head. It’s burned. I mean I’ve never seen something so brutal, I’ve watched stuff on TV and I’ve never seen stuff like that. Of course I love my brother, but for something like this, I can disown anyone. To kill your own family. To hurt your own father.”
Vincent is in the Polk County jail and has been charged with first degree murder.
Lana Shadwick is a contributing writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as an associate judge and prosecutor. Follow her on Twitter@LanaShadwick2
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.