An 18-year-old put his MMA skills to use on Sunday night to protect his 16-year-old brother from an axe-wielding man at a Florida car wash.
Leodan Pino and his younger brother were outside the car wash where they work in Ocala when a deranged man wielding an axe approached them. The armed man was later identified as 36-year-old Bryce Thayer, Daily Mail reported.
Video of the encounter shows Thayer clothed in a turquoise shirt and a black backpack and clutching an axe as he staggers toward the teenagers.
Pino told a local news outlet he was locking up the car wash when he heard someone screaming and yelling. He said Thayer was “obviously not in the right state of mind,” and he told him repeatedly to leave.
When the alleged perpetrator did not back down, Pino used his mixed martial arts training by lunging toward Thayer and taking him to the ground in a flash.
“Once he lowered, that’s when I shot the take-down, and I got on top of him and I controlled the situation,” the MMA-trained military recruit told a local news outlet.
“Once I realized he wasn’t letting go, that’s when I threw a couple elbows until he was incapacitated,” he continued. “I got him to his back, put him in a body triangle, held a rear naked choke on him and waited until the cops got there.”
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office was so impressed by the takedown that they offered Pino a job on the spot, according to the report. Pino declined because he is already enlisted in the military.
Pino said Thayer ultimately “got what he deserved.” The axe-wielder’s mug shot shows him bloodied and bruised from the altercation.
Deputies said they discovered a glass pipe used for methamphetamine when they searched Thayer. Thayer could reportedly be heard on law enforcement body camera video telling that he had not done anything wrong, per the report.
Thayer was arrested and is facing charges for two counts of felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bail was set at $65,000, according to the report.
Pino said he is thankful he was the one closing up the car wash that night.
“I’m just happy that I was able to protect my brother,” he said.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
