Ybor stabbing suspect arrested
By Times Online staff
Published June 25, 2005
Tampa police have arrested a man in connection with the Thursday night stabbing during a concert at the Masquerade nightclub in Ybor City. Michael Pyne, 39, turned himself in to Tampa police early this morning. Pyne admitted to having a knife, but told authorities he doesn't remember anything after seeing his girlfriend get into a fight during the concert.
Pyne, of Pinellas Park, has been charged with first degree murder, attempted murder and two counts each of aggravated battery and aggravated assault.
[Last modified June 25, 2005, 11:38:00]
three others seriously injured turned himself over to authorities in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday; the attack took place Thursday night, during a Corrosion of
Conformity concert at the city's Masquerade club.
According to the Tampa Tribune, Michael John Pyne, a 39-year-old man from Pinellas Park, Florida, is being held without bail, charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Pyne has a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions on weapons and narcotics charges, as well as battery on a law-enforcement officer, the Tribune reports.
Detectives from the Tampa Police Department managed to track Pyne down with relative ease, as the accused murderer was apparently handing out business cards prior to the stabbing incident; Pyne is a tattoo artist at Rat-a-Tac-Tat Tattooing in nearby Dunedin, Florida. According to the paper, police contacted Pyne, and asked him to come in for questioning.
"I don't know if I stabbed somebody or not," Pyne allegedly told detectives during interrogation, the Tribune reports. "But I may have."
According to police, Pyne's girlfriend got into a fight with another woman during the concert, in the club's crowded mosh pit (see "Four Fans Stabbed, One Fatally, At Corrosion Of Conformity Show"). When a bartender tried to separate the women, police claim Pyne stepped in and started stabbing concertgoers. Before fleeing the venue, Pyne allegedly stabbed four people.
One of the victims, Thomas Laskas, was pronounced dead early Friday morning (June 24) at Tampa General Hospital; police said he was stabbed in the chest and upper body repeatedly, and died from those fatal wounds.
Three other concertgoers suffered injuries one of them, Laskas' wife Wendy, who was upgraded from critical to fair condition on Saturday at Tampa General, where doctors have been treating her for stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. The two other victims, both males, were treated for stab wounds and sent home.
On Saturday, Pyne admitted that he was at the nightclub the night of the attack, and was carrying a pocketknife, according to the Tribune.
"He said all he remembers is his girlfriend got into a fight," police spokesperson Joe Durkin told the paper. "He remembers pulling her away, but he blacked out after that and said he doesn't remember what happened after that."
Chris Harris
By Times Online staff
Published June 25, 2005
Tampa police have arrested a man in connection with the Thursday night stabbing during a concert at the Masquerade nightclub in Ybor City. Michael Pyne, 39, turned himself in to Tampa police early this morning. Pyne admitted to having a knife, but told authorities he doesn't remember anything after seeing his girlfriend get into a fight during the concert.
Pyne, of Pinellas Park, has been charged with first degree murder, attempted murder and two counts each of aggravated battery and aggravated assault.
[Last modified June 25, 2005, 11:38:00]
three others seriously injured turned himself over to authorities in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday; the attack took place Thursday night, during a Corrosion of
Conformity concert at the city's Masquerade club.
According to the Tampa Tribune, Michael John Pyne, a 39-year-old man from Pinellas Park, Florida, is being held without bail, charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Pyne has a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions on weapons and narcotics charges, as well as battery on a law-enforcement officer, the Tribune reports.
Detectives from the Tampa Police Department managed to track Pyne down with relative ease, as the accused murderer was apparently handing out business cards prior to the stabbing incident; Pyne is a tattoo artist at Rat-a-Tac-Tat Tattooing in nearby Dunedin, Florida. According to the paper, police contacted Pyne, and asked him to come in for questioning.
"I don't know if I stabbed somebody or not," Pyne allegedly told detectives during interrogation, the Tribune reports. "But I may have."
According to police, Pyne's girlfriend got into a fight with another woman during the concert, in the club's crowded mosh pit (see "Four Fans Stabbed, One Fatally, At Corrosion Of Conformity Show"). When a bartender tried to separate the women, police claim Pyne stepped in and started stabbing concertgoers. Before fleeing the venue, Pyne allegedly stabbed four people.
One of the victims, Thomas Laskas, was pronounced dead early Friday morning (June 24) at Tampa General Hospital; police said he was stabbed in the chest and upper body repeatedly, and died from those fatal wounds.
Three other concertgoers suffered injuries one of them, Laskas' wife Wendy, who was upgraded from critical to fair condition on Saturday at Tampa General, where doctors have been treating her for stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. The two other victims, both males, were treated for stab wounds and sent home.
On Saturday, Pyne admitted that he was at the nightclub the night of the attack, and was carrying a pocketknife, according to the Tribune.
"He said all he remembers is his girlfriend got into a fight," police spokesperson Joe Durkin told the paper. "He remembers pulling her away, but he blacked out after that and said he doesn't remember what happened after that."
Chris Harris
Good one Karrokid
