Lt. William Weldon’s eyes show signs of visible damage after a gouging attack, but he’s in good spirits and thankful to be alive after what he called the scariest experience of his career.
Early Sunday morning, Lt. Weldon reported to an alarm at Joyeria Latina on 9th Street West.
Police Chief Melanie Bevan said through a mistake by the security alarm company, Weldon came in alone thinking it was an accidental tripped alarm. But when he arrived he saw broken glass and realized it was a burglary in progress.
The suspect, 23-year-old Isaac Dubon, initially seemed compliant. Since Dubon was unarmed, Weldon put his gun away. But as the officer tried to restrain him, Dubon fought back.
Over the course of a couple of minutes, the two wrestled and Dubon tried to gouge Weldon’s eyes by literally sticking his fingers into his eye sockets.
Weldon said his vision blurred to the point where when he looked at Dubon, he saw four of him.
At one point when the two were apart, Weldon reached out his hand to find Dubon and then pistol whipped him.
He was afraid for his life and worried about his family. But Weldon was determined to do everything in his power to restrain Dubon and not kill him.
“We don’t come to work thinking we’re going to have to, or we want to shoot somebody. So any time that you can get into a fight like this and walk away, and you both walk away, its always a good day,” said Weldon.
Isaac Dubon, 23, is an illegal immigrant who is a suspect in other crimes. The federal government placed a hold on him and he’s currently at the Manatee County jail.
Lt. Weldon was able to come back to work the next day, but Chief Bevan said she is giving him time off to recover.