Ormond Beach, FL – A Volusia County man is free on bond after investigators believe he came home drunk and attacked at least 1 family member with a wooden sword.
21-year-old Matthew C. Prida was arrested on Monday by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office after a deputy found him hiding in a friend’s van at a residence on Avenue G near Ormond Beach.
Prida bonded out of Volusia County Jail on Tuesday after he was charged with aggravated child abuse, witness tampering, battery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Deputies were called to Prida’s Avenue A home around 3:45 PM Monday after he got into an argument with his mother over her telephone, according to the arrest report.
Prida’s 37-year-old sister told VCSO he was drunk when he grabbed a wooden sword from his room and walked around the house swinging it, saying he “would mess up anyone who wanted some”, per the report.
Investigators think Prida physically charged his sister at one point, pinning her against the wall with the sword while punching her in the face at least 3 times. They also believe he went into her room, took her phone and broke it so she couldn’t call 911.
Besides attacking his sister, VCSO says Prida also hit a 12-year-old boy in the neck with the sword and then ran away before law enforcement could come to the scene.
The report shows first responders found the home in “complete disarray”, including several broken doors and holes in the wall. They also found the boy and Prida’s sister “distraught and crying” on the front porch.
Both victims refused medical treatment at the scene despite her having “severe swelling” and bruising on her right eye and the boy having redness on his left shoulder and both of his hands and arms.
VCJ records show Prida’s been booked there 2 other times, including for battery in June 2014 and for a misdemeanor drug offense and possession of drug paraphernalia in March 2015.
The boy’s exact relationship to Prida wasn’t clear in the report, but it did note that a report on the incident was forwarded to the Department of Children & Familes.
Photo above of the actual sword is courtesy of VCSO.
Matthew C. Prida (mugshot courtesy VCJ)
Copyright 2016 Southern Stone Communications.