Punta Gorda Publix box cutter attack suspect freed by mental health court

A Florida man allegedly slashed a 70-year-old Publix shopper with a box cutter just over three months after a mental health court ended his probation early in a case involving an unprovoked attack on a teenager.

According to the Punta Gorda Police Department, Ramsey Thomas Lyons, 47, faces a felony charge of aggravated battery on a person 65 years or older following an attack at the Publix Super Market on Tamiami Trail in Punta Gorda on Oct. 10.

A sworn probable cause arrest affidavit indicated that Lyons approached a man from behind, shortly before 4 p.m. while David Terry shopped inside the store.

After feeling someone violently strike him, the victim turned to face Lyons, who allegedly stared at him while holding a box cutter blade. The victim ran to the front of the store after touching his head and noticing his hands were bloody, the affidavit stated.

Ramsey Thomas Lyons, 47, faces a felony charge of aggravated battery on a person 65 years or older following an attack at the Publix Super Market on Tamiami Trail in Punta Gorda, Florida, on Oct. 10, 2026. (Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office)

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Punta Gorda police officers arrived and apprehended Lyons at the front of the store, where he stood with his hands on his head. They also recovered a box cutter from the aisle where the incident occurred.

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First responders took the victim to Fawcett Memorial Hospital with a severe cut measuring four to six inches from his left cheek down to his neck, alongside a minor laceration to his upper chest, police said.

Lyons, who waived his Miranda rights, told authorities that he had a deep “dislike for the 1960s era,” and admitted he planned to kill someone in the store that day. He targeted the victim solely because the shopper “looked like he was from the 1960s” and felt like “acing him out,” police said.

Publix is an employee-owned American supermarket chain based out of Lakeland, Florida, with over 1,400 locations. (iStock)

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“I just pulled it out of my pocket and stuck it in his neck,” Lyons said, according to the affidavit.

Lyons, who told police he had mental health issues, allegedly admitted he spent two days planning the attack and that he purposely dropped the weapon down the aisle so that responding officers would not use a Taser or shoot him.

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The attack renewed criticism from the mother of a teenager Lyons previously assaulted.

On March 13, 2025, Lyons assaulted a 16-year-old at a Wawa gas station in Port Charlotte, sucker-punching the teenager in the side of the face as he held a door open. Following the arrest, the 20th Judicial Circuit court system placed Lyons into a specialized Mental Health Court diversion program.

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The teen’s mother, Shawna Gentry, told Fox News Digital that she fought the diversion track, asking the state prosecutor to seek jail time, alcohol classes and probation. She said she warned judicial officials at the time that Lyons was an active, volatile threat.

Shawna Gentry is pictured with her son in an undated photograph. Gentry’s son was attacked on March 13, 2025, at a Wawa gas station in Port Charlotte, Florida, when he was 16. (Courtesy of Shawna Gentry)

Charlotte County court minutes show the court terminated Lyons’ probation on July 6, with no objection from the State Attorney’s Office. The minutes included the handwritten words: “Graduation! Congratulations!” alongside a hand-drawn smiley face.

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“The way the court handled it, the way the state attorney handled it was very odd to me,” Gentry said. “They told us they were sending him to a mental health facility, but he never went to a secured place. From what we saw, they just put him right back onto outpatient probation in our neighborhood and cut us completely out of the process.”

Gentry also challenged the narrative that Lyons suffered a psychiatric break during his attacks. She felt Lyons weaponized mental health language as a calculated legal shield.

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“When the sheriff came, it was almost like he knew exactly what to say,” Gentry said. “He immediately said, ‘Well, I’ve got mental health issues.’ He was so quick to use that word.”

She also said that Lyons appeared visibly intoxicated during the 2025 assault.

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The court provided no tracking updates, safety alerts, or transitional monitoring to his prior victims, Gentry said.

Months later, Lyons walked into the Punta Gorda Publix.

Mental health courts

The National Treatment Court Resource Center counted 679 adult mental health courts nationwide at the end of 2024. A 2021 analysis of 30 evaluations linked mental health court participation to 74% lower odds of repeat offending.

Research on offenders with mental disorders suggests that recidivism depends more on criminal history than on diagnosis. A 2005 study published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence found that the number of previous offenses was the strongest predictor of reoffending.

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“My son saw it on TikTok, came running to me, and I could see the emotion in his face,” Gentry said. “Big old tears welled up in his eyes and he said, ‘Mom, the guy that hit me just stabbed an old man at Publix. You were right.'”

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“The first thing out of my son’s mouth to the sheriff back in 2025 was that if that man had a gun or a knife, he wouldn’t be here today. Now an innocent senior citizen is in the hospital because the system refused to hold him accountable.”

The State Attorney’s Office for the 20th Judicial Circuit did not respond to comment by publication date.

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Lyons remains held without bond at the Charlotte County Jail. His arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 16 at the Charlotte County Justice Center.

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Court records indicated that Lyons declined a public defender. It’s unclear whether he has hired a private attorney.