Every Friday, starting today, I will be releasing a news story that I actually used in the creation of Florida Man: Battle of the Five Meth Labs: A Love Story, with commentary. Gawp in awe at the horror and stunning stupidity that is Florida Man and enjoy the behind-the-scenes foundational madness of this Florida Man novel.
John Ott, of Boca Raton, was helping a friend outside when his neighbor, Alberto Felipe, walked up and requested a cigarette. Upon refusal, the Felipe embraced Ott in a bear hug and bit off a piece of his ear. Ott’s ear was sewn back on and Felipe, who, not surprisingly, had three prior arrests on assault and battery charges, was arrested for a fourth time and charged with federal aggravated battery. As of January 2014, he was out of $3,000 bond. Don’t think Ott’s a purely innocent man, though obviously you don’t just bite a man’s ear off. Ott was sentenced in 1977 for second degree murder, grand theft auto in 1987, and committed forgery, escaped jail, and did a lot of robbery in 1988. He was in and out of custody from 1979 to 1995—managed to get his ear bitten off in 2014—before returning to prison in 2016 for possession of a controlled substance and, again, grand theft auto. It’s worth noting that he had a tattoo described as “Florida, Gator” on his left leg. He seems to be a free man as of this writing.
-Moran, Lee. “Florida Man Bites Off Neighbor’s Ear After He Refuses to Bum a Cigarette.”NY Daily News. Tribune Publishing Company. January 9, 2014.
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Lee Harper Oswald 
Sock it to me...