Authorities in Arizona have arrested a 39-year-old homeless man accused of a horrifying, seemingly random attack that left the victim with catastrophic injuries.
Homeless man rips out victim’s eyeball
According to Phoenix police, Daniel Lanks allegedly assaulted a man near 48th Street and Broadway Road around 1 a.m. on April 11.
The victim told officers that he was merely walking in the area and greeted Lanks by asking, “How are you doing?”
Court records show that Lanks reacted aggressively, threatening the man by saying he would “whoop his a**.”
As the victim tried to walk away, Lanks allegedly came up from behind and violently tore out the man’s right eyeball.
Even after the victim collapsed, Lanks continued the assault by punching him in the face, resulting in a fractured jaw, according to investigators.
Despite his grave injuries, the victim managed to return home and asked his girlfriend to contact police.
Officers who responded to the scene reported finding the man clutching his severed eye in a blood-soaked towel.
Officers noted in their report that when the towel was removed, the eye was completely dislodged from its socket and hanging from it.
Lanks was located and arrested three days later. During his encounter with authorities, Lanks was reportedly combative, at one point telling officers to “shut the f**k up” and claiming he didn’t understand his Miranda rights.
The victim successfully identified him in a police lineup. Held on a $500,000 cash bond, Lanks faces charges of aggravated assault.
Court filings described the long-term damage suffered by the victim, who said that losing the use of his right eye and suffering a fractured jaw would severely impact his daily life. According to the documents, he fears he may no longer be able to work or perform routine tasks.
He told authorities that the incident left him in fear for his life and stated that he believed Lanks could have killed him.
The victim said the attack was entirely unprovoked and denied doing anything that could have been interpreted as threatening.
Reports from KSAZ-TV revealed that just one week before the alleged assault, Lanks had been released from jail without bond on charges of aggravated assault and organized retail theft.
Unhoused man attacks victim in his driveway
In another violent confrontation involving a homeless individual, police in East Tulsa, Oklahoma, responded to an incident in which a man wielding a baseball bat reportedly attacked someone who had been working on a car in his own driveway.
Law enforcement officials said that surveillance footage and interviews with the man who fired a gun during the encounter suggest that the situation began when the bat-wielding individual approached and engaged in a confrontation.
The suspect allegedly began striking the man with the bat, prompting the intended victim to retrieve a firearm and shoot the attacker, resulting in his death. Authorities questioned the shooter but chose not to take him into custody.
The deceased attacker was later identified as 36-year-old Dane Swets, an area homeless man. Investigators said he had used the bat in the assault on the man in the driveway.
Due to the complexity of the case, officials stated that all evidence and investigative details would be submitted to the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors will evaluate the facts and decide whether any charges should be filed.
Homeless man pushes woman onto subway tracks
In yet another incident involving a homeless man, a New York City woman narrowly survived a harrowing subway attack in January.
Police say 26-year-old Markeese Brazelis, who had been previously arrested twice in the weeks leading up to the event, allegedly pushed a 23-year-old woman into the path of an oncoming A train at the 175th Street subway station.
The push occurred shortly after the morning commuter rush, and while the woman was struck by the train, she somehow managed to survive and fell back onto the platform. Emergency services transported her to St. Luke’s Hospital for treatment.
Brazelis was arrested at the 181st Street station shortly afterward. Witnesses had taken photographs of him and helped officers locate and detain him.
As he was being led away, Brazelis told reporters that he acted under the influence of inner voices, stating, “I didn’t need to do that,” and adding, “It wasn’t right.”
He is now facing two felony charges, including assault with intent to cause serious injury with a weapon. This particular charge carries a potential sentence of up to seven years in prison.
Records indicate Brazelis had at least two other pending court appearances. On January 19, he was arrested for allegedly trespassing in a restricted area of a subway station in Brooklyn.
He was released without bail three days later. In a separate case in Manhattan, he was charged with third-degree sexual abuse on December 21 after allegedly groping a woman on a train. Once again, he was released without bail.
Michael Kemper, Chief Security Officer for the MTA, reacted to the pattern of leniency in Brazelis’s prior cases.
“It’s beyond comprehension how this menace can be arrested two different times last week only to be turned loose to cause more mayhem. When will the courthouses get the message? This can’t continue,” he said.
