Florida Deputy Allegedly Shoved Pill’s Down Old Woman’s Throat, Stole Dog

Deputy Bybee with the alleged victim’s Yorkshire terrier.

Summary: A Florida deputy allegedly tried to murder a woman after stealing her dog.

Deputy Frankie Eugene Bybee shocked his coworkers when he was arrested for attempting to kill an old lady after stealing her dog. He was arrested this week in Florida, and the 18-year veteran of the force is being held in county jail on bonds for over $1 million.

“His actions are a disgrace, not only to our agency but to law enforcement professionals everywhere,” Sarasota County Sheriff Thomas Knight said to the Huffington Post.

Bybee, 45, enacted a series of weird crimes against the elderly victim, which including stealing her money, forcing her to swallow pills and trying to poison her with carbon monoxide fumes. The senior law enforcement officer was charged with attempted murder as well as grand theft larceny.

The investigation into Bybee started last month after the 79-year-old victim complained to the sheriff’s office that Bybee was harassing her. She said she met him in October of 2016 when he responded to a call for help at her home. He took her to the hospital, and after that, he apparently became infatuated with her, visiting her while on and off duty. He even introduced her to members of his family.

The pair developed a deep friendship while the woman was still in the hospital, so she asked him to watch her Yorkshire terrier J.J. temporarily. However, when she was released from the hospital, she was horrified to learn that Bybee did not want to return her dog.

Detectives interviewed Bybee who admitted that he took possession of the elderly woman’s pet and decided to place an ad on Craigslist to give it away to someone else.

Further investigation showed that Bybee had forged four checks in the woman’s name for a total of $65,000. While she was in the hospital, she said that she wrote Bybee a check for $1,000 to watch her dog; and Bybee allegedly used that check to create the fakes. When the police discovered this on January 9, they put Bybee on administrative leave.

But Bybee didn’t stop there. Three days later, he showed up at the old woman’s house wearing dark clothing and latex gloves. He allegedly mounted her, held her down, and forced prescription medication in her mouth. She subsequently blacked out; and when she awakened, she found her home filled with carbon monoxide fumes. Bybee allegedly left her vehicle running and opened the inside garage door, hoping to snuff the lady in her sleep.

The woman called the police who deemed Bybee had tried to kill the victim and make it appear to be a suicide.

Bybee was promptly arrested, and authorities were able to find the woman’s dog and return him to her.

During his Monday court appearance, Bybee denied all charges and said he had an alibi for the time of the assault. According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, in 2015, he was found guilty of making false statements to supervisors and was demoted from detective to his current position.

Since his start date in 1998, Bybee had been investigated five times by his department.

Source: The Huffington Post