Inset: Daniel John Kenel (Charlotte County Sheriff”s Office). Background: A Publix in Port Charlotte, Fla. (Google Maps).
A Florida man was recently arrested for attacking a couple just outside of a Publix grocery store, Sunshine State law enforcement say.
The weapon of choice in the alleged attack was a can of bug spray.
Daniel John Kenel, aged 65, has been charged with two counts of aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm, as reported by a press release from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
On August 31, just after 2 p.m., deputies were dispatched following a reported altercation at a supermarket on Cochran Boulevard in Port Charlotte, which is approximately 40 miles southeast of Sarasota.
Deputies reported that the male victim was already taken to the nearby Fawcett Main Hospital after allegedly being sprayed in the face with what seemed to be bug spray, as stated in an affidavit of probable cause obtained by Law&Crime.
Soon, a consensus arose. A deputy wrote in the charging document: “Other units that arrived first on scene stated the victims smelled of bug spray.”
The deputy observed “spray residue” on the back window of the victims’ white Honda Civic and on the front of the female victim’s black t-shirt, according to the affidavit.
Later, at the hospital, the male victim was interviewed and gave his perspective on what happened at and outside the grocery store.
The male victim recounted that he was initially in one checkout line when his wife called for him to join hers, as per the affidavit. However, this action allegedly irked the defendant. The male victim told the deputy that Kenel “approached and attempted to get in front of” his wife, who was already in line waiting for her husband, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit notes that the defendant became “upset” when the couple “began placing their merchandise on the belt.” Simultaneously, Kenel allegedly “also began placing his merchandise on the belt with theirs,” as outlined in the affidavit.
The charging document alleges what happened next:
[The husband] stated an argument arose between [his wife] and [the defendant] due to this and then [the husband] stepped in between them to tell [Kenel] to back off. [The husband] stated [Kenel] then left his cart and merchandise and ran out of the store. [The husband] stated [his wife] and him went out to their vehicle and began loading their merchandise into it when [Kenel] ran up behind them and sprayed them in the face with what he believes to be bug spray.
The male victim went on to say he tried to chase the assailant but that he ran off, so the couple called 911, according to the affidavit.
The sheriff’s office says surveillance footage from the Publix in question confirmed the victim’s narrative.
In the footage, the defendant is allegedly seen getting into his his white Ford F-150 and driving “to the other side of the Publix parking lot and park it in a stall.” Next, Kenel is allegedly seen “lying in wait” before spraying the couple “in the face with the apparent bug spray and then continues to run off.”
The defendant was later located and taken into custody at a nearby cemetery. Law enforcement noted, however, that he did not have a bottle of bug spray in his possession at the time.
During an initial interview, the defendant allegedly said the other man spit in his face during the supermarket showdown but “did not want to talk about anything that occurred in the parking lot.
Kenel was briefly detained in the Charlotte County Jail on $2,000 bond but has since been released, records show.
“This is a disgusting and cowardly act, and over what? Who checks out first at the grocery store? The level that this man took it to was dangerous and completely unnecessary,” Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said in a statement. “Please – when frustrations inevitably occur in life, take a moment to ask yourself ‘Is this worth it?’ More often than not, you will find the answer is no.”
