Florida man accused of slashing Publix shopper
Ramsey Thomas Lyons, 47, has been charged with felony aggravated battery of a person age 65 or older after an alleged attack at the Publix Super Market on Tamiami Trail in Punta Gorda, Florida, on Oct. 10, 2026, according to Punta Gorda police.
A Florida man allegedly used a box cutter to slash a 70-year-old Publix customer little more than three months after he completed probation early through a mental health court program stemming from an unprovoked assault on a teenager.
Punta Gorda police said Lyons is accused of attacking the elderly shopper inside the Tamiami Trail supermarket on Oct. 10. He is charged with aggravated battery involving a victim age 65 or older.
A sworn probable-cause affidavit states that Lyons walked up behind David Terry shortly before 4 p.m. as Terry browsed the store.
Terry reportedly felt a forceful blow and turned around to find Lyons staring at him while holding a box-cutter blade. After touching his head and seeing blood on his hands, Terry ran toward the front of the store, the affidavit said.
Ramsey Thomas Lyons, 47, is accused of aggravated battery against a person age 65 or older following an alleged attack at the Publix Super Market on Tamiami Trail in Punta Gorda, Florida, on Oct. 10, 2026. (Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office)
Officers responding to the scene found Lyons near the entrance with his hands placed on top of his head and took him into custody. Police also located a box cutter in the aisle where the alleged assault occurred.
Emergency crews transported Terry to Fawcett Memorial Hospital. Police said he suffered a serious four- to six-inch wound extending from his left cheek to his neck, as well as a smaller cut on his upper chest.
After waiving his Miranda rights, Lyons allegedly told investigators he held a strong “dislike for the 1960s era” and had gone to the store intending to kill someone. Police said he chose Terry because the man “looked like he was from the 1960s” and Lyons wanted to “ace him out.”
Publix, an employee-owned supermarket company headquartered in Lakeland, Florida, operates more than 1,400 stores across the United States. (iStock)
According to the affidavit, Lyons described the alleged attack by saying, “I just pulled it out of my pocket and stuck it in his neck.”
Lyons also told police he had mental health problems and allegedly said he had spent two days preparing for the assault. Investigators said he deliberately left the weapon in the aisle so officers would be less likely to use a Taser or open fire.
The latest incident has prompted renewed criticism from the mother of the teenager Lyons was accused of attacking in 2025.
On March 13, 2025, Lyons allegedly struck a 16-year-old in the side of the face at a Wawa station in Port Charlotte while the teenager was holding open a door. After Lyons’ arrest, the 20th Judicial Circuit court system placed him in a diversion program through its specialized Mental Health Court.
Shawna Gentry, the teen’s mother, told News Outlet that she opposed the diversion arrangement and urged the state prosecutor to pursue jail time, alcohol education and probation. She said she warned court officials that Lyons remained volatile and posed an active threat.
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Shawna Gentry appears with her son in an undated photo. Her son was 16 when Lyons allegedly attacked him at a Wawa gas station in Port Charlotte, Florida, on March 13, 2025. (Courtesy of Shawna Gentry)
Records from Charlotte County court show that Lyons’ probation was ended on July 6 without opposition from the State Attorney’s Office. The court minutes included the handwritten message, “Graduation! Congratulations!” next to a drawn smiley face.
“The way the court handled it, the way the state attorney handled it was very odd to me,” Gentry said. She said officials told her Lyons would be sent to a mental health facility, but he was never placed in a secure setting. Instead, she said, he returned to outpatient probation in the neighborhood and the family was excluded from the process.
Gentry also disputed the suggestion that Lyons experienced a psychiatric crisis during the alleged attacks. In her view, he used references to mental illness as a deliberate legal defense.
“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.
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.
“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.'”
“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.
Lyons remains held without bond at the Charlotte County Jail. His arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 16 at the Charlotte County Justice Center.
Court records indicated that Lyons declined a public defender. It’s unclear whether he has hired a private attorney.
