The suspected killer of a Florida Publix walked free months ago despite warnings from victims

Ramsey Thomas Lyons beat a 70-year-old Publix shopper with a box cutter a few months after his probation was ended early by a mental health court.

Florida man accused of beating Publix shopper

Punta Gorda Police say Ramsey Thomas Lyons, 47, faces felony charges of assault on a person 65 or older after the attack at the Publix supermarket on Tamiami Trail in Punta Gorda, Florida, on Oct. 10, 2026.

A Florida man beat a 70-year-old Publix shopper to death with a box cutter, a little more than three months after a mental health court soon ended his probation in a case involving the unlawful assault of a teenager.

According to the Punta Gorda Police Department, Ramsey Thomas Lyons, 47, faces felony charges following the attack at the Publix supermarket on Tamiami Trail in Punta Gorda on Oct. 10 for a person 65 or older, according to the Punta Gorda Police Department.

A probable cause arrest affidavit said Lyons approached a man from behind shortly before 4 p.m. While Terry was shopping inside the store.

After feeling someone hit him hard, the victim turned to Lyons, who was allegedly staring at him with a box cutter blade in his hand. The affidavit states: The victim ran to the front of the shop after touching his head and seeing blood on his hands.

Ramsey Thomas Lyons, 47, faces felony charges of assault on a person 65 or older after the attack at the Publix supermarket on Tamiami Trail in Punta Gorda, Florida, on October 10, 2026. (Charlotte County Sheriff's Office)

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Punta Gorda police officers arrived and arrested Lyons at the front of the store, where he was standing with his hands on his head. They also discovered a box cutter in the corridor of the scene.

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

Lyons, who waived his Miranda rights, told authorities he had "a lot of hatred for the 1960s" and admitted he had planned to kill someone in the store that day. Police said he targeted the victim only because the shopper "looked like he was from the 1960s" and felt he was "pulling him off".

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

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"I just took it out of my pocket and put it in his neck," Lyons said, according to the affidavit.

Lyons, who told police he had mental health problems, allegedly admitted to spending two days planning the attack and intentionally dropped the gun in the hallway so responding officers wouldn't use a Taser or shoot him.

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This criticism of the mother of the teenager Al-Falion had been attacked before.

On March 13, 2025, Lyon attacked a 16-year-old juvenile at a Wawa gas station in Port Charlotte, punching the juvenile in the side of the face while holding the door open. After his arrest, the 20th Judicial Circuit court system placed Lyons in a specialized mental health court diversion program.

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Charlotte County court records show the court terminated Lyon's probation on July 6, with no objections from the state attorney's office. The minutes included the handwritten words "Graduation! Congratulations!" Next to a hand smiley.

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"The way the court handled it, the way the state's attorney handled it was very strange to me," Gentry said. "They told us they were going to send him to a mental health facility, but he never went to a safe place. From what we saw, they put him on an outpatient basis in our neighborhood and took us out of the process completely."

Gentry also challenged the narrative that Lyons suffered a mental breakdown during his attacks. He felt that Lyons was using the language of mental health as a calculated legal shield.

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"When the sheriff came, he pretty much knew exactly what to say," Gentry said. "He immediately said, 'Well, I have mental problems.'" He used the word very quickly.

He also said that Lyon appeared visibly drunk during the 2025 attack.

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Gentry said the court did not provide any tracking updates, safety alerts, or transitional monitoring for his previous victims.

Months later, Lyons entered the Punta Gorda Museum.

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 involvement to a 74 percent lower likelihood of recidivism.

Research on offenders with mental disorders suggests that recidivism is more dependent on criminal history than diagnosis. published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence in 2005 that the number of prior offenses was the strongest predictor of reoffending.

"My son saw it on TikTok, he came up to me and I could see the emotion on his face," Gentry said. Old tears welled up in her eyes and she said, "Mom, the guy who hit me just stabbed an old guy at Publix. You were right."

“The first thing out of my son's mouth to the sheriff in 2025 was, if that guy 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 20th Judicial District Attorney's Office did not respond to a request for comment by press time

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

Court records show Lyons declined to retain a public attorney. It is unclear whether he has hired a private attorney.

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