2 Men Attack Homeless Man With Axe & Hatchet

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Holly Hill, FL - Two men end up in custody after attacking a homeless man at his camp.

On Saturday (January 19th), Volusia County deputies were called to a home off Palm Terrace in Holly Hill just after 3:00 p.m., where they found the owner of the home providing first aid to another male on his doorstep.

The injured male was bleeding from his face, head and a few other places on his body.

The homeowner told deputies that he didn't know the injured man and that he just collapsed outside of his home.

He said that while he was in his home, he heard a banging sound coming from outside his house. When he opened the door he found the injured man laying face down on his stoop, covered in blood.

The injured male told the homeowner that two males in the woods tried to kill him, both of them attacked him with a hatchet and an axe.

During a brief conversation with the injured man, deputies learned that he was sitting at his homeless encampment when two men, later identified as 37-year-old James Dipietrae and 49-year-old Daniel Rodriguez (respectively), came up and attacked him.

He told deputies that he personally knew Dipietrae and Rodriguez, as they resided at the camp with him. He also said that they both dug a hole and told him that they were going to kill him and then bury him as they attacked him.

Dipitrae's girlfriend was also at the camp and witnessed the attack, according to his story.

The report also shows he was attacked because he was flirting with Dipitrae's girlfriend.

The injured male told deputies he was eventually able to stand up and walk out of the wooded area to the home on Palm Terrace where he eventually collapsed.

He would eventually be transported to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach where he would eventually be formally interviewed.

Deputies would eventually investigate the encampment where they found a freshly dug hole with a shovel next to it, and blood inside the injured man's tent.

Not long after, deputies would get a call on the radio saying Dipitrae and his girlfriend were near the intersection of 9th Street and Derbyshire Road in Daytona Beach.

They would find the girlfriend walking westbound towards Derbyshire, where she was eventually stopped by deputies.

She told deputies that her boyfriend was located near the Derby Shoppes Plaza and that she couldn't go with him because she was trespassed from the property.

Deputies would head to an area behind the Derby Shoppes Plaza where they found another encampment and Dipitrae. Rodriguez would eventually be found later by a K-9.

Around 10:15 p.m., as both Dipitrae and Rodriguez were being taken to Volusia County Jail, Dipitrae became impatient and began kicking the bars of the windows on the deputy's patrol vehicle. This would break the window locking mechanism on the door as well as denting parts of the door.

Both men were charged with aggravated battery and Dipietrae was additionally charged with criminal mischief after damaging the vehicle's door.

Both Rodriguez and Dipietrae remain in custody. Rodriguez is held on $15,000 bond while Dipietrae is held on $15,500 bond.

The injured man's condition is unknown at this time, however he was able to formally be interviewed by Volusia County Sheriff's Office.